fflONAL  AT 


D-OHEATH  &.CO 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


DANIEL  MCDONALD  —  FIRST  SENIOR  ATHLETE 

Height,  5  ft.  5  in.;  weight,  119  Ibs.;  Age,  15  years. 

Rating  in  Posture,  10;  Alertness,  9;  Running,  10;  Hygiene,  9. 

Chinning  the  Bar,  14  times;  Hop,  Step  and   Leap,  28  ft.;  Standing  Broad  Jump, 

6  ft.  9  in.;  Trunk  Lifting,  32  times;  Combination  Dip,  14  times;  Putting  6-lb.  Medi- 

c.ne  Ball,  30  ft.;  Chest  Expansion,  4  in. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS 
FOR  BOYS 


BY 

FREDERICK  J.  REILLY 

PRINCIPAL,    PUBLIC    SCHOOL   33,    THE    BRONX 
NEW   YORK   CITY 


D.  C.  HEATH  AND   COMPANY 

BOSTON      NEW  YORK      CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,     1915,     BY 
D.    C.    HEATH    &    COMPANY 

iCs 


DEDICATED    TO 

GENERAL  GEORGE   W.   WINGATE 

PRESIDENT,  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  ATHLETIC  LEAGUE 


355308 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 8 

PREFACE 9 

I.   INTRODUCTORY 13 

II.   PHYSICAL  TRAINING  vs.  ATHLETICS  ....  20 

III.  RATIONAL  ATHLETICS 34 

IV.  How  THE  WORK  is  TAKEN  UP 55 

V.   THE  EXERCISES  AND  THE  APPARATUS    ...  68 

VI.  SOME  RESULTS  ACHIEVED 83 

VII.  THE  PENTATHLON 88 

VIII.  SOME  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  GIRLS  ....  101 

IX.  RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  ADULTS  .  .  .  .  110 

APPENDIX 115 

INDEX  .  .  .  124 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Daniel  McDonald:  First  Senior  Athlete         ....   Frontispiece 


PAGE 


A  Modern  Varsity  Football  Game,  1914 26 

A  Boy  Scout         33 

Fig.  1.  —  Obverse  of  Physical  Training  Record  Card    ...  37 

Fig.  2.  —  Reverse  of  Physical  Training  Record  Card     ...  38 

Fig.  3.  —  Classroom  Chart  Used  in  Rational  Athletics  ...  43 

Fig.  4.  — Table  of  Results,  Fall  Term,  1914 52 

Fig.  5.  — The  Two  Minute  Drill 58 

Fig.  6.  —  One  of  the  Banners  Awarded  in  Inter-Class  Contests  59 

Fig.  7.  —  Testing  Chest  Expansion 60 

Fig.  8.  —  Floor  Plan  of  Boys'  Gymnasium 62 

Fig.  9.  —  The  Squads  Line  Up 63 

Fig.  10.  —  The  Squads  in  Action 63 

Fig.  11.  —  Taking  Places  for  Exercise 64 

Fig.  12.  —  Ready  for  Exercise .  65 

Fig.  13.  —  The  Standing  Broad  Jump 69 

Fig.  14.  —  The  Combination  Dip:  First  Count 71 

Fig.  15. —    he  Combination  Dip :  Second  Count     ....  72 

Fig.  16.  — The  Combination  Dip:  Third  Count       ....  73 

Fig.  17.  —  Testing  the  Combination  Dip 74 

Fig.  18.  —  Target  for  Practice  in  Pitching 80 

Platform  of  Public  School  2,  New  York  City 85 

Fig.  19.  — Pentathlon  Trophy 90 

Field  Day  of  Public  School  33,  New  York  City       ....  94 

Carolyn  Miller:  Best  Girl  Athlete 100 

Fig.  20.  —  Floor  Plan  of  Girls' Gymnasium 103 

Fig.  21.  — Target  for  Baseball  Throwing 104 

Fig.  22.  — The  Girls' Squads  in  Action 107 

Fig.  23.  — The  Adult's  Record  Card 113 


PREFACE 

IN  November,  1911,  the  Committee  on 
Athletics,  of  the  New  York  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, General  George  W.  Wingate,  Chair- 
man, issued  a  pamphlet  calling  attention  to 
the  system  of  "general  athletics"  then  in  use 
in  Public  School  No.  2,  Manhattan,  stating 
that  its  "success  has  been  so  pronounced  that 
it  is  desired  to  call  it  to  the  attention  of  the 
principals  and  teachers  throughout  our  educa- 
tional system." 

"Rational  Athletics,"  as  this  system  was 
called  later,  was  at  that  time  in  its  infancy. 
Since  then  it  has  been  developed  to  such  an 
extent  that  its  sponsors  feel  that  it  is  time 
a  full  and  complete  description  of  this  work 
were  given  out.  Hence  this  manual. 

The  method  here  described  is  simply  an 
effort  to  combine  the  benefits  of  all-around 
physical  training  with  the  keen  joy  of  ath- 
letic competition  and  to  give  every  boy  an 
equal  chance  —  doing  away  entirely  with  the 
idea  of  a  picked  team.  The  plan  presented 


10  PREFACE 

has  been  worked  oat  for  boys  in  an  elemen- 
tary school.  The  same  method,  with  an  end- 
less variety  of  exercises,  may  be  applied  in 
high  schools  and  colleges,  boys'  clubs,  sum- 
mer camps,  in  the  army  and  navy,  and  in 
the  militia. 

The  author  is  deeply  indebted  to  the 
teachers  in  Public  School  No.  2,  Manhattan, 
and  Public  School  No.  33,  The  Bronx,  who 
have  aided  in  the  development  of  the  plan; 
to  the  special  teachers,  Mr.  Barnet  Shapiro 
and  Mr.  Harry  Cohen,  for  valuable  assist- 
ance; to  Dr.  Crampton,  Director  of  Physical 
Training,  for  encouragement  and  helpful  ad- 
vice; and  in  a  special  manner  to  Dr.  Aldinger, 
Assistant  Director  in  charge  of  Manhattan 
and  The  Bronx,  for  unfailing  resourcefulness 
in  helping  us  out  of  difficulties. 


F.  J.  R. 


NEW  YORK  CITY, 
March,  1915. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


RATIONAL    ATHLETICS 
FOR   BOYS 

I.  INTRODUCTORY 

Physical  training  work  naturally  divides 
itself  into  three  parts: 

1.  Corrective  work,  prescribed  for  an  indi- 
vidual by  a  competent  adviser  and  designed 
to  bring  that  individual  to  a  state  of  harmo- 
nious development. 

2.  Class  work,  prescribed  for  large  groups 
and    consisting   of   rhythmic  work,    response 
work,  apparatus  work,  etc. 

3.  Athletics,  which  means  competition  for 
a  prize  either  in  an  organized  game,  or  in  some 
track  or  field  "event"  usually  restricted  to 
a  picked  few  called  the  "team." 

In  the  public  schools  we  cannot  attempt 
much  in  the  first  of  these  divisions;  we  are 
dealing  with  large  numbers  of  children  and 
have  not  the  time  for  that  kind  of  work. 
Moreover  most  teachers  of  physical  training 

13 


14       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

are  not  competent  to  examine,  prescribe,  and 
carry  out  an  individual  scheme  of  correction, 
even  though  they  may  desire  to  do  so. 

Therefore,  for  the  present  at  least,  our 
attention  must  be  limited  to  the  second  and 
third  divisions:  class  work  and  athletics. 

It  is  my  contention  that  the  fundamental 
error  has  been  the  separation  of  these  two. 
Physical  training  class  work  has  been  some- 
thing formally  prescribed  and  arbitrarily 
imposed  upon  the  children,  with  an  utter  in- 
difference to  their  mental  attitude  toward  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  athletics  and  the  keen  joy 
of  competition,  the  invaluable  mental,  moral, 
and  physical  training  that  comes  from  whole- 
some  sport,  have  been  reserved  for  the  favored 
few,  and  in  the  process  athletics  has  become 
so  intense,  so  specialized  and  commercialized, 
that  I  am  not  alone  in  saying  that  it  is  prob- 
ably doing  more  harm  than  good  in  our 
schools  and  colleges  to-day.  As  a  separate 
institution,  divorced  from  regular  school  work, 
controlled  by  professional  coaches  whose  live- 
lihood depends  on  turning  out  a  winning 
team,  and  engaging  actively  less  than  20  per 
cent,  of  the  students  in  our  colleges,  it  has 
built  up  a  double  standard  of  morals  that 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       15 

augurs  badly  for  our  future  business  and 
professional  ethics.1 

The  movement  to-day,  a  movement  that 
deserves  all  possible  encouragement,  is  to 
bring  athletics  and  class  work  in  physical 
training  together;  to  inject  into  the  carefully 
prescribed  course  in  physical  training  the 
vim,  the  lively  interest  to  be  found  only 
in  some  form  of  game  or  athletic  contest, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  make  athletics  the 
business  of  the  many,  not  of  the  few;  to 
bring  the  benefits  of  athletics  within  the  reach 
of  all;  to  cleanse  it  of  its  present  undemo- 
cratic methods  and  of  its  "win  at  any  price" 
tendencies. 

The  theory  and  practice  of  physical  train- 
ing, as  in  any  other  department  of  education, 
must  be  adapted  to  the  age,  to  the  degree  of 
civilization  and  the  conditions  of  life  which 
they  aim  to  meet.  The  conditions  surround- 
ing the  ancient  Athenian  youth,  the  English 
boy  of  the  fourteenth  century,  or  our  own 
early  pioneer  boys,  would  all  necessarily  differ 
widely  from  the  conditions  existing  to-day 

1  See  Dr.  Wm.  L.  Dudley,  Physical  Education  Review,  April, 
1913;  Dr.  Chas.  E.  Smith,  Physical  Education  Review,  Jan.,  1914; 
Prof.  C.  A.  Stewart,  Atlantic  Monthly,  Feb.,  1914. 


16   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

in  a  great  manufacturing  and  commercial 
city.  Nevertheless,  there  are  certain  under- 
lying principles  that  have  varied  but  little, 
if  any,  through  the  ages,  and  these  should 
be  held  fast  and  never  lost  sight  of  in  the 
effort  to  adapt  ourselves  to  present  day 
conditions. 

I  should  group  the  aims  to  be  sought  in 
physical  training  under  five  heads : 

1.  Health,  the  proper  functioning  of  all  the 
organs;    ability  to  do  a  good  day's  work  and 
to  become  a  good  ancestor.    This  implies  the 
inspiration  of  .an  ideal,  the  arousing  of  inter- 
est, and  the  giving  of  the  information  neces- 
sary for  an  intelligent  care  of  the  health. 

2.  Strength  and  endurance.     The  military 
idea  may  be  subordinated,  but  it  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of  entirely,  since  nations,  like 
individuals,  sometimes  have  to  fight  for  their 
lives.      Strength   is   needed,   also,   to   play   a 
man's  part  in  case  of  danger  from  fire,  flood, 
storm,  or  other  elemental  catastrophe,  and  to 
protect  ourselves  and  others  from  bullies. 

3.  Beauty  of  form  and  grace  of  carriage. 
These  are  objects  well  worth  working  for,  - 
consciously    on    the    part    of    the    instructor, 
even  if  unconsciously  by  the  pupil. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   17 

4.  A  living  interest  in  some  form  or  forms 
of  active  sport.     Such  an  interest  will  greatly 
influence   the   boy's   after   life   by   removing 
him  from  many  temptations  in  his  youth  and 
by  tending  to  lure  him  out  of  doors  in  his 
later  life. 

5.  The  team  spirit.     To  teach  the  boy  to 
work  with  and  for  his  fellows,  to  play  the 
game  for  all  it  is  worth,  not  to  give  up,  and, 
above  all,  to  play  fair. 

These  ideas  are  not  new;  they  have  been 
voiced  by  many;  they  have  been  particularly 
well  presented  by  Dr.  Henry  S.  Curtis  in  the 
American  Physical  Education  Review  for  Feb- 
ruary, 1914.  But  it  is  well  to  state  briefly 
here  the  aims  we  have  had  in  mind  in  depart- 
ing from  the  methods  usually  followed  in  the 
schools. 

We  have  tried  to  establish  a  system  of 
physical  training  based  on  athletics,  and  we 
have  selected  a  series  of  exercises  which,  if 
followed  consistently,  will,  we  believe,  pro- 
duce a  harmonious  physical  development.  In 
our  choice  of  exercises  we  have  been  much 
hampered  by  the  lack  of  equipment,  but,  in 
the  main,  we  are  satisfied  with  our  present 
selections. 


18   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

It  is  in  the  method,  however,  more  than  in 
the  material,  that  we  have  made  the  greatest 
departure.  We  have  applied  the  method  of 
athletics  to  our  physical  training  exercises. 
First,  each  boy  is  in  competition  against  his 
own  record  as  shown  on  his  record  card  at 
the  end  of  the  preceding  term;  second,  each 
class  is  divided  into  three  squads,  selected  as 
boys  choose  sides  by  three  captains,  these 
squads  being  in  competition  against  one 
another;  third,  the  classes  of  the  same  grade 
in  our  school  are  competing;  and  lastly,  we 
have  matched  our  school,  grade  by  grade, 
against  the  corresponding  grades  in  neigh- 
boring schools,  —  some  friends  of  the  school 
having  put  up  a  unique  set  of  trophies  for 
these  inter-school  contests.  Some  2220  boys 
took  part  in  these  competitions  last  year. 

In  the  inter-school  contests,  80  per  cent, 
of  the  register  of  each  grade  must  take  part, 
the  sum  of  all  the  points  won  by  any  grade 
being  divided  by  the  number  competing  to 
get  the  average.  This  is  all-around  athletics 
in  two  senses;  first,  in  that  each  boy  takes 
part  in  a  number  of  exercises  designed  for 
thorough  physical  development;  and  second, 
in  that  every  boy  in  the  school  takes  part, 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       19 

except  those  excluded  by  the  doctor's  orders. 
And  better  still,  there  is  no  compulsion  about 
it,  the  interest  of  the  boys  being  so  keen  that 
we  have  to  be  on  the  alert  to  keep  those  with 
weak  hearts  and  other  physical  defects  from 
slipping  in  —  which  is  hardly  the  usual  state  of 
affairs,  as  any  physical  training  teacher  knows. 


II.   PHYSICAL  TRAINING  vs. 
ATHLETICS 

Physical  training  or  "physical  culture" 
has  become  almost  a  mocking  and  a  byword 
in  our  language.  False  prophets  have  arisen 
one  after  the  other,  each  proclaiming  far  and 
wide  that  he  had  at  last  discovered  the  one 
great,  infallible  system  of  physical  culture 
that  would  make  us  all  Sandows  or  Annette 
Kellermans.  But  when  we  have  tried  out  these 
systems  we  have  found  that  they  consisted 
of  the  same  tiresome  daily  repetition  of  cer- 
tain set  forms  of  exercise  that  very  few  of  us 
have  the  moral  stamina  to  keep  up  for  very 
long. 

In  our  schools,  one  system,  one  course  of 
study,  has  succeeded  another,  each  beginning 
with  bright  hopes  and  each  ending  in  the  usual 
disillusionment.  And  why?  Because  these 
systems  of  physical  training,  although  con- 
sisting of  carefully  prepared,  well  balanced 
series  of  exercises  designed  to  produce  a  fine 
condition  of  harmonious  development,  were, 
as  a  rule,  in  themselves  tiresome  and  unin- 
teresting. If  it  is  a  strain  even  upon  us 

20 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       21 

teachers  to  keep  on  doing  something  unin- 
teresting, day  after  day,  in  the  hope  of  some 
benefit  to  be  derived  ultimately,  imagine  how 
irksome  that  sort  of  thing  must  be  to  chil- 
dren! To  stand  in  rows  on  the  floor  and  to 
go  through  certain  movements  prescribed  by 
the  teacher,  with  probably  not  the  least  idea 
of  a  reason  for  any  of  them,  doing  them  simply 
because  the  teacher  says  so  —  is  it  any  won- 
der that  most  physical  training  lessons  are 
listless,  lifeless  performances,  except  where  the 
teacher  is  unusually  magnetic  and  expends  a 
great  deal  of  energy  in  arousing  his  pupils? 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  so  many  boys  and  girls 
seek  all  manner  of  excuses  for  getting  out  of 
the  work?  Isn't  it  rather  a  wonder  that  they 
don't  rebel  and  go  on  strike  against  what 
must  often  seem  to  them  an  inane  repetition 
of  senseless  movements? 

Advocates  of  physical  training  have  pleaded 
for  more  of  this  work  to  be  introduced  in  the 
schools,  on  the  ground  that  it  afforded  re- 
laxation and  relief  from  the  strain  of  ordinary 
class  work.  And  yet  every  authority  is  agreed 
that  the  most  exhausting  period  in  the  day 
is  the  physical  training  period!  No  clearer 
evidence  of  the  way  in  which  school  children 


22       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

have   been   defrauded   is   needed   than   these 
facts. 

Imagine  a  class  marched  under  strict  disci- 
pline up  or  down  several  flights  of  stairs  to 
gymnasium  or  yard,  lined  up  in  set  order, 
put  through  a  few  minutes  of  "tactics" 
marching,  facing,  forming  lines,  etc. --then 
a  few  minutes  of  "response  work"  in  which 
they  execute  new  and  complicated  move- 
ments to  order,  then  perhaps  a  few  minutes 
of  "rhythmic  work"  in  which  they  perform, 
in  unison,  various  movements  previously 
learned  —  all,  mind  you,  requiring  close  at- 
tention and  concentration  to  understand, 
remember,  and  carry  out,  or,  failing  this,  earn- 
ing the  sharp  reproof,  the  scolding  and  per- 
haps punishment  for  not  "paying  attention"! 
Where  is  the  recreation  --  the  relaxation? 

When  it  is  realized  that  in  all  of  this  work 
the  boy  has  so  far  not  exerted  himself  any 
more  than  he  could  help,  that  he  has  not  put 
into  a  single  movement  any  more  energy 
than  the  watchful  eye  of  the  teacher  seemed 
to  demand,  you  will  understand  what  Dr. 
Crampton  means  when  he  says:  "I  am  con- 
vinced that  much  of  our  school  gymnastics 
has  been  thoroughly  overloaded  with  response 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      23 

commands,  with  the  result  that  we  are  getting 
little  more  than  mental  work  —  a  pale  anaemic 
attempt  at  physical  exercise,  as  the  man  in 
the  street  knows  the  term." 

On  the  other  hand  we  have  athletics. 

To  judge  by  the  amount  of  space  devoted 
to  "Sports"  in  the  daily  papers,  one  would 
imagine  that  we  Americans  were  the  greatest 
nation  of  athletes,  of  lovers  of  outdoor  sports 
the  world  ever  saw.  As  a  matter  of  fact  most 
of  us  get  our  exercise  by  reading  the  "sporting 
page,"  by  discussing  the  decision  in  the  latest 
prize  fight,  or,  at  best,  by  sitting  and  watch- 
ing some  hired  men  bat  or  kick  a  ball  around 
a  vacant  lot. 

To  judge  by  the  papers  and  the  popular 
stories  of  school  and  college  life,  one  would 
imagine  that  our  secondary  and  higher  insti- 
tutions of  learning  were  maintained  princi- 
pally to  gather  material  for  the  various 
"teams";  and  that  about  all  our  boys  do  in 
high  school  and  college  is  take  part  in  games 
and  athletic  contests. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Dr.  Wingert  of  Ohio 
State  University  reports  that,  while  over  a 
million  dollars  a  year  are  spent  on  college 
athletics  alone  in  this  country,  less  than 


24   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

20  per  cent.  -  -  16.4  per  cent,  to  be  exact  - 
of  all  college  students  take  any  active  part  in 
athletics.  Think  of  it!  Over  one  million  dol- 
lars a  year  spent  in  exploiting  16,4  per  cent, 
of  our  students!  What  about  the  other 
83.6  per  cent.?  Well,  they  are  privileged  to 
pay  dues,  buy  tickets,  and  get  their  exercise 
by  rooting  from  the  "bleachers."  There  is 
democracy  for  you!  There  is  equality  of 
opportunity ! 

You  may  ask,  "Why  doesn't  the  majority 
instead  of  the  minority  take  part  in  athlet- 
ics?" For  the  very  good  reason  that,  if  they 
offered  themselves,  nine  out  of  ten  of  them 
would  be  promptly  rejected.  The  "coach" 
has  no  time  to  waste  on  ordinary  young  men. 
His  business  is  to  pick  out  a  few  husky  young 
fellows  and  develop  a  winning  team. 

Advocates  of  the  present  system  maintain 
that  "the  influence  of  one  hundred  champion 
athletes  is  far-reaching,"  that  "one  hundred 
thousand  boys  will  be  so  stimulated  by  their 
efforts  that  interest  will  grow."  Let  this  be 
granted.  But  what  would  happen  to  any 
of  the  hundred  thousand  if  they  presented 
themselves  for  training?  As  before  intimated, 
they  would  be  promptly  ordered  off  the  field. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       25 

The  coach  and  his  assistants  are  busy  with 
the  team. 

What  a  screaming  farce  it  would  be  if 
the  professors  and  tutors  were  to  select 
from  the  candidates  for  admission  to  their 
classes  the  few  who  showed  any  evidence  of 
brains  and  proceeded  forthwith  to  coach  these 
individuals  for  months  in  the  subjects  in 
which  they  were  strongest — the  other  candi- 
dates, meanwhile,  playing  pingpong  or  reading 
novels — and,  at  the  end,  allowed  the  latter 
to  purchase  tickets  to  come  in  and  watch 
the  "cracks"  take  their  examinations!  Is  it 
any  less  a  farce  for  our  college  faculties  to 
allow  the  coaches  to  select  a  few  young  fel- 
lows, already  blessed  with  unusual  strength 
and  skill,  and  groom  them  for  a  spectacular 
contest  that  partakes  more  of  the  nature  of 
a  hippodrome  exhibition  than  that  of  an 
educational  institution? 

A  perfect  chorus  of  complaints  is  going  up 
all  over  the  country  against  the  present  sys- 
tem. Men  who  know  what  they  are  talking 
about  state  that  the  present  individual  or 
intensive  form  of  athletics  is  objectionable  for 
four  distinct  reasons: 

I.    //  Leads  to  Specialization.    The  present 


26      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      27 

system  tends  to  develop  specialists  in  certain 
"events,"  rather  than  all-around  athletes,  or 
men  of  sound,  well  balanced  physical  develop- 
ment. The  famous  Mike  Murphy,  late  dean 
of  American  trainers,  said:  "The  first  thing 
necessary  is  to  find  the  'event'  for  which 
you  show  the  most  natural  aptitude.  Then 
stick  to  it." 

That  sentence  sums  up  the  law  and  the 
prophets  in  present  day  athletics.  The  aim 
of  athletics  is  not  to  produce  strong,  healthy, 
self-reliant  men,  capable  of  doing  a  good  day's 
work  in  the  world,  but  rather  to  produce  a 
few  experts  who  can  do  some  one  thing  better 
than  somebody,  or  anybody,  else  can  do  it. 

In  the  schools,  we  do  not  allow  a  boy  who 
is  good  at  mathematics  to  specialize  in  that 
subject  to  the  neglect  of  language,  history, 
and  science.  Why,  then,  should  a  school  or 
college  allow  specialization  in  physical  work? 

II.  It  Exalts  the  Individual.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  serious  evils  of  athletics  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  school  or  college,  and 
yet  it  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult  to  make 
real  to  those  who  have  not  intimately  watched 
its  effect  upon  students.  It  is  positively  sad 
at  times  to  see  students,  faculty,  and  alumni 


28      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

unite,  seemingly,  in  an  effort  to  exalt  some 
fatuous  duffer  whose  only  claim  to  recogni- 
tion is  that  he  can  "run  a  little  faster,  jump 
a  little  farther,  or  play  ball  a  little  better" 
than  his  fellows.  The  best  students,  the  finest 
gentlemen,  the  most  able  and  helpful  charac- 
ters, the  heroes  who  are  working  their  way 
through  college  against  tremendous  odds,- 
none  of  these  begins  to  get  such  recognition  as 
comes  to  the  bruiser  who  can  make  five  yards 
on  "a  down,"  or  to  the  sprinter  who  can  clip 
a  fifth  of  a  second  off  a  record. 

Read  any  of  the  hundreds  of  books  on  school 
and  college  life  and  see  how  athletics  has 
eclipsed  the  school  in  the  estimation  of  the 
students  and  of  the  public.  The  hero  is  always 
the  "stroke"  of  the  crew,  the  star  "pitcher," 
or  the  marvelous  "half  back."  The  fellow 
who  studies  is  either  neglected  altogether,  or 
treated  with  contempt  and  referred  to  as  a 
"grind." 

In  my  humble  opinion,  the  faculties  of  our 
schools  and  colleges  have  only  themselves  to 
blame  for  this  peculiar  condition.  They  have 
so  neglected  the  physical  side  in  the  train- 
ing of  students,  that  the  boys  have  taken  the 
matter  into  their  own  hands  and,  naturally, 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       29 

lacking  experience  and  wisdom,  they  have 
gone  about  it  in  the  wrong  way.  They  have 
followed  the  methods  of  the  athletic  clubs,  of 
professional  and  so-called  amateurs,  and  there- 
fore we  have  all  the  evils  referred  to,  and 
especially  this  exaggerated  worship  of  the 
track  and  field  hero. 

III.  It  Tends  to  Commercialism.  The  very 
keenness  of  the  competition,  when  the  fame  of 
a  school  is  permitted  to  depend  on  the  perform- 
ance of  a  few  men,  when  the  reputation  and  the 
livelihood  of  a  professional  coach  depend  on  his 
turning  out  a  winning  team,  inevitably  leads 
to  all  the  varying  degrees  of  crookedness  that 
are  embraced  under  the  term  "commercial- 
ism." It  would  seem  to  be  rather  a  severe 
commentary  on  our  business  methods  when 
commercialism  is  a  synonym  for  dishonesty! 
But  such  it  is. 

Only  those  on  the  inside  know : 

1.  The  "inducements"  offered  to  promis- 
ing youngsters  to  join  certain  colleges  —  wit- 
ness the  scramble  last  year  to  get  Howard 
Drew,  the  famous  colored  sprinter. 

2.  The  "cramming"  to  pull  doubtful  ath- 
letes through  their  examinations  so  that  they 
will  not  be  barred  by  the  virtuous  faculty. 


30       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

3.  The  sinecure  positions  and  the  scholar- 
ships given  to  athletes  to  help  them  "work 
their  way"  through  college. 

4.  The  secret  coaching  in  ways  to  beat  the 
rules  and  evade  the  watchful  eye  of  the  referee. 

5.  The  not  infrequent  "accidental"  maim- 
ing of  a  dangerous  opponent,  to  put  him  out 
of  the  game. 

Even  if  it  were  possible  to  eliminate  all 
these  evils  —  and  it  is  not  —  a  system  that 
makes  athletics  the  sole,  absorbing  business 
of  the  men  who  "make  the  team,"  during  the 
months  they  are  in  training,  is  so  foreign  to 
the  purposes  of  an  educational  institution 
that  it  is  hard  to  understand  how  and  why  it 
is  tolerated. 

IV.  It  Leads  to  Overtraining  the  Few  and 
Neglecting  the  Many.  I  have  no  desire  to  enter 
into  a  discussion  of  the  effect  of  intensive 
athletics  on  the  health  of  students  in  after 
life.  Where  there  is  so  much  criticism,  it 
seems  reasonable  to  suppose  there  must  be 
some  ground  for  it.  The  point  I  wish  to  em- 
phasize is  that  no  school  has  a  right  to  allow 
a  few  boys  to  be  picked  out  and  trained,  or 
overtrained,  merely  to  make  a  show,  while 
neglecting  the  great  majority.  That  seems 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   31 

such  a  self-evident  proposition  that  I  shall  not 
elaborate  upon  it. 

A  great  mass  of  criticism  of  the  present  sys- 
tem has  been  written  in  recent  years  by  high- 
minded  men  who  know  whereof  they  speak. 
Many  plans  have  been  suggested  for  doing 
away  with  various  evils,  but  to  my  mind 
none  of  them  goes  to  the  root  of  the  matter. 
The  system  is  so  fundamentally  wrong  that 
it  must  be  radically  reformed.  Even  granted 
that  human  nature  could  be  so  changed  that 
no  college  man  or  coach  would  resort  to  any 
dishonest  practice  in  order  to  win,  the  whole 
scheme  is  so  undemocratic  that  it  should  be 
driven  out  of  educational  institutions  and 
reserved  for  the  athletic  clubs  of  professionals 
or  so-called  "amateurs." 

If  there  is  any  good  in  athletics  —  and  there 
certainly  is  —  then  every  student  is  entitled  to 
an  equal  opportunity  to  get  all  the  good  he 
can  out  of  it,  just  as  he  is  entitled  and  en- 
couraged to  get  all  the  good  he  can  out  of  the 
lectures,  the  libraries,  and  the  various  other 
activities  of  college  and  school  life. 

The  present  system  of  athletics  is  a  pyramid 
standing  on  its  apex.  :'The  honor  of  the 
school"  is  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  a  picked 


32   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

few,  the  school  team.  Let  us  turn  the  pyramid 
right  side  up.  Let  the  honor  of  the  school, 
in  athletics  as  in  everything  else,  depend  on 
the  high  average  attained  by  all  the  students. 
Make  athletics  part  of  the  course  of  study  in 
physical  training.  Let  the  director  of  physi- 
cal training  devise  a  course  of  study  with  a 
minimum  of  corrective  and  educational  work 
for  securing  good  posture  and  muscular  co- 
ordination, and  a  maximum  of  athletics,  real 
athletics,  of  the  kind  the  boys  like.  Work 
out  a  plan  of  competitions  that  will  interest 
the  boys,  and  they  will  do  the  rest.  Give 
opportunity  for  the  playing  of  all  sorts  of 
games  among  the  boys  of  the  school,  but 
abolish  all  inter-school  contests  based  on  the 
"team"  idea;  or  at  least,  relegate  them  to  a 
position  of  secondary  importance.  If  an  in- 
ter-school contest  is  desired,  let  the  school 
team  be  not  less  than  80  per  cent,  of  the  reg- 
ister, and  let  the  events  be  such  as  to  show 
the  all-around  physical  training  work  of  the 
school. 

Such  work  might  very  properly  be  called 
"Rational  Athletics,"  and  such  a  plan,  worked 
out  for  boys  in  elementary  schools,  is  fully 
described  in  the  succeeding  chapters.  The 


RATIONAL   ATHLETICS   FOR   BOYS      33 

same  method,  modified  to  suit  conditions, 
can  easily  be  worked  out  for  high  schools 
and  colleges.  Boys'  clubs,  Scout  patrols,  the 


Courtesy  of  Boy  Scouts  of  America.     A   BOY   SCOUT. 


militia  and  regular  army,  organized  for  athlet- 
ics on  this  basis,  would  do  vastly  more  for 
the  physical  welfare  of  our  boys  and  young 
men  than  can  ever  be  accomplished  by  the 
present  intensive,  individual,  selective  system 
of  athletic  training. 


III.   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS 

The  new  course  of  study,  prepared  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  Crampton  for  the  public 
schools  of  New  York,  prescribes  five  parts  for 
a  lesson  in  physical  training. 

1 .  Introductory  —  simple    * '  warming    up ' ' 
movements  to  prepare  the  class  for  the  real 
work. 

2.  Corrective  —  exercises    designed    to   se- 
cure good  posture  and  carriage. 

3.  Educational  —  exercises     for    "training 
in   form,   precision,   alertness,   control,   isola- 
tion, coordination,  and  inhibition." 

4.  Hygienic-- vigorous    work   to    exercise 
the  muscles  and  stimulate  the  organs. 

5.  Recreative  —  folk-dancing,  games,  ath- 
letics, for  fun  and  relaxation. 

There  is  good  psychology  underlying  this 
arrangement,  and  in  our  work  we  follow  this 
plan,  giving  about  one-half  the  time  of  a  lesson 
to  the  first  three  elements  and  the  remaining 
half  to  our  own  exercises,  which  come  under 
the  heads  of  hygienic  and  recreative.  From 

34 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       35 

this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  system  we  are 
here  aiming  to  present  is  not  something  arbi- 
trarily opposed  to  the  course  of  study.  It 
has,  in  fact,  been  worked  out  with  the  full 
knowledge  and  consent  of  Dr.  Crampton  and 
with  the  active  cooperation  of  Dr.  Aldinger, 
Assistant  Director. 

Rational  Athletics  is  a  system  of  physical 
training  designed  for  use  in  conjunction  with 
the  new  course  of  study,  but  offered  frankly 
as  a  substitute  for  the  present  intensive  sys- 
tem of  athletics  as  conducted  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Public  Schools  Athletic  League, 
and  as  a  vast  improvement  on  the  extensive 
plan  of  so-called  "Class  Athletics,"  also  con- 
ducted by  the  League. 

With  this  introduction,  let  us  look  at  the 
Physical  Training  Record,  on  which  are 
summed  up  the  results  of  the  term's  work. 

This  Record  is  written  up  in  duplicate  at 
the  end  of  the  term.  One  copy,  on  white 
paper,  is  sent  home,  signed  by  the  parent,  and 
returned  to  the  teacher  to  show  him  that  it 
has  been  seen  at  home.  It  then  becomes  the 
property  of  the  boy.  The  duplicate,  on  yel- 
low cardboard  of  the  same  size  (5"  x  8"), 
remains  on  file  in  the  school,  becoming  a 


36   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

progressive  record  of  that  particular  boy's 
work  in  physical  training. 

The  first  four  items  require  little  explana- 
tion. The  weighing  is  done  on  a  spring 
balance  with  a  handle  from  which  the  boy 
hangs.  This  permits  much  faster  weighing 
than  shifting  weights  on  a  balance  scale,  and 
is  quite  accurate  enough  for  our  purpose. 
Height  is  taken  by  standing  backed  up  to  a 
scale  on  a  door  frame.  Allowance  is  made 
for  the  height  of  the  shoe  heel,  and  a  class  is 
thus  weighed  and  measured  in  a  very  short 
time.  In  fact  all  through  the  work  every 
effort  has  been  made  to  economize  time  so 
that  the  maximum  amount  of  active  exercise 
may  be  obtained  in  the  time  allowed,  without 
infringing  on  the  other  work  of  the  school. 
This  will  appear  in  the  detailed  description 
of  several  of  the  exercises  used. 

The  first  five  items  in  the  Record,  for  which 
points  are  given,  form  a  group  by  themselves. 
The  Running  (sprints),  Chinning  the  Bar,  and 
Standing  Broad  Jump  are  the  events  used 
by  the  P.  S.  A.  L.  in  its  extensive  plan  of 
Class  Athletics.  These  three,  with  a  satis- 
factory mark  in  Posture,  and  satisfactory 
ratings  in  the  rest  of  the  school  work,  form 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      37 


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EXPLANATORY   NOTE 

"  Rational  Athletics  "  is  a  system  of  physical  training 
through  a  carefully  arranged  series  of  athletic  competi- 
tions. Its  object  is  to  give  every  boy,  except  those 
excluded  by  the  doctor's  orders,  the  training  in  whole- 
some sports  that  is  usually  given  only  to  a  selected 
team  —  with  this  exception :  we  do  not  allow  boys  to 
"specialize." 

Posture,  Alertness,  Running  and  Hygiene  are  marked 
on  a  maximum  of  10. 

In  all  the  other  items,  the  boy  must  reach  a  certain 
minimum  standard  set  for  his  grade,  before  he  begins 
to  score.  If  he  can  pass  the  minimum,  he  wins  points 
according  to  a  carefully  graduated  scale.  As  the  boys 
become  more  proficient,  it  may  be  necessary  to  raise  the 
standards.  At  present,  ratings  are  given  as  follows: 

60  points  —  Junior,  or  Third  Class  Athlete. 

80  points  —  Intermediate,  or  Second  Class  Athlete. 

100  points  —  Senior,  or  First  Class  Athlete. 

To  qualify  as  an  athlete,  there  is  no  scholarship 
test.  The  rating  depends  wholly  on  the  boy's  physical 
skill. 

To  win  the  P.  S.  A.  L.  Athletic  Badge,  however,  he 
must  qualify  in  the  first  five  events  on  our  program 
and  must  have  satisfactory  marks,  —  "  B  "  or  better  in 
Effort,  Proficiency  and  Conduct. 

The  Athletic  Badge,  "Bronze  Button,"  is  the  mark 
of  the  all-around  boy. 


FIG.  2.  — REVERSE  OF  PHYSICAL  TRAINING  RECORD  CARD  (Reduced) 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      39 

the  basis  for  the  Bronze  Button  or  Athletic 
Badge  Test,  held  once  a  year.  We  have 
added  Alertness  as  an  item  deserving  special 
recognition  and  being  closely  related  to  good 
posture. 

The  next  five  (Nos.  6  to  10)  are  exercises 
which  we  have  adopted  as  combining: 

1.  Good  all-around  physical  exercise. 

2.  Natural  interest  for  the  boys. 

3.  A  minimum  of  apparatus. 

No.  11  is  devoted  to  a  rating  in  Physiology 
and  Hygiene  as  called  for  by  the  Course  of 
Study.  The  fact  that  his  rating  as  an  ath- 
lete is  appreciably  affected  by  his  mark  in 
this  subject  will  lend  an  extrinsic  interest  to 
this  subject  that  is  otherwise  conspicuously 
missing. 

Nos.  12  and  13  were  left  blank  with  the 
idea  of  filling  in  further  exercises  as  the  de- 
mand arose.  Already  these  spaces  have  been 
preempted,  —  one,  as  a  result  of  a  conference 
with  Dr.  Aldinger,  in  which  he  suggested  a  de- 
vice for  training  in  pitching,  which  has  already 
been  worked  out  and  has  aroused  considerable 
interest  among  the  boys;  the  other,  a  fine 
grip  exercise,  borrowed  from  Dr.  Crampton's 
health  record  now  in  use  in  the  pre-vocational 


40   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

schools.  We  shall  probably  not  add  any 
more  exercises  to  our  list.  But  should  we 
find  that  any  one  we  are  now  using  fails  in 
interest,  we  shall  substitute  something  else, 
putting  a  paster  over  the  space  now  given  to 
the  rejected  one.  This  has  already  been 
done  in  one  case,  where  we  dropped  an  exer- 
cise known  as  "Trunk  Lifting"  and  substi- 
tuted the  High  Jump,  at  the  request  of  the 
squad  leaders. 

In  addition  to  this,  and  acting  upon  a  sug- 
gestion from  Dr.  Crampton,  we  examine 
every  boy's  medical  record;  and  where  he  is 
found  to  have  some  curable  defect,  in  teeth, 
nose,  eyes,  tonsils,  etc.,  we  offer  ten  extra 
points  to  be  added  to  his  score  if  he  has  rem- 
edied that  defect  before  the  end  of  the  term. 

The  system  has  flexibility.  The  only  tests 
applied  to  any  exercise  to  be  included  are: 

1.  Does  it  interest  the  boys? 

2.  Will  it  help  produce  all-around  develop- 
ment? 

3.  Is  it  practicable,  i.e.,  is  it  safe,  and  not 
too  expensive? 

The  last  two  spaces  in  the  Record  Card 
are  for  the  total  of  the  points  won  in  all 
the  exercises  enumerated,  and  the  boy's  con- 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      41 

sequent  rating  as  an  athlete.  The  last  column 
records  the  boys  who  have  won  the  Athletic 
Badge,  or  Bronze  Button. 

This  brings  us  to  a  consideration  of  the 
scoring  system. 

THE  SCORING  SYSTEM 

As  stated  in  the  Explanatory  Note  on  the 
back  of  the  Record  Card,  Posture,  Alertness, 
Running,  and  Hygiene  are  marked  on  a  basis 
of  1  to  10.  The  class  teacher  and  the  physical 
training  teacher,  who  may  or  may  not  be  the 
same,  give  marks  in  Posture  and  Alertness, 
at  any  time,  just  as  they  do  in  Conduct.  The 
teacher  who  gives  the  lessons  in  Hygiene, 
generally  the  class  teacher,  marks  in  that 
subject  just  as  in  any  other.  About  once  a 
month,  one  or  two  of  the  men  teachers  test  the 
classes  in  running  and  give  each  boy  a  rating. 
The  method  used  to  secure  the  latter  is  as 
follows : 

The  class  is  lined  up  back  of  the  starting 
line,  the  teacher  standing  at  the  finish  line, 
stop  watch  in  hand.  As  the  big  second  hand 
passes  over  a  given  mark,  he  snaps  his  hand- 
kerchief and  the  first  boy  starts  to  run.  As 
the  runner  crosses  the  line  the  teacher,  without 


42      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

stopping  the  watch,  calls  out  the  time  and  a 
boy,  acting  as  clerk,  puts  it  down  opposite 
that  runner's  name  on  a  chart  which  is  kept 
in  the  classroom.  (See  Fig.  3.) 

As  the  second  hand  passes  over  the  next 
marked  division  (10  or  15  sees.)  the  teacher 
snaps  his  handkerchief  again  and  the  second 
boy  starts;  and  so  on  to  the  end.  In  this 
way  a  class  can  be  tested  in  running  and  each 
boy  given  an  individual  mark  in  from  five  to 
ten  minutes.  Of  course  this  mark  is  only  an 
approximation,  but  stop  watches  are  expen- 
sive and  we  cannot  afford  to  wear  ours  out  by 
snapping  the  time  on  every  one  of  hundreds 
of  boys.  Some  day  w^e  hope  to  have  an 
automatic  recording  device  for  timing  that 
will  stand  up  under  the  use  that  we  will 
give  it. 

The  distances  which  the  boys  run  are  the 
same  as  used  by  the  P.  S.  A.  L.  in  the  "Class 
Athletics"  contests,  viz: 

5th  Year,  40  yds.  7th  Year,  60  yds. 

6th      "     50   "  8th      "      80      " 

From  a  study  of  the  various  averages  in  class 
running  made  by  classes  throughout  the  city, 
we  have  fixed  on  the  following  standards: 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       43 


CTN 


w   5- 

3  I 
o  cti 


44      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

5th  Year,  40  yds.,  6  sees. 

6th      "  50     "  7    " 

7th      "  60     "  8    " 

8th      "  80     "  10    " 

The  boy  who  equals  these  standards  is 
credited  with  eight  points.  Those  who  can 
do  better  are  given  nine  or  ten,  according 
to  their  speed.  Those  who  are  slower  get 
seven,  six,  or  five. 

In  the  winter  months  we  substitute  a 
potato  race  for  straightaway  running.  Six 
baskets  are  placed  on  a  line,  about  ten  feet 
apart.  Twenty-six  feet  away  from  the  start- 
ing line,  the  first  "potato"  is  placed,  and  three 
more  are  placed  at  distances  of  eight  feet 
each,  beyond  that,  the  farthest  being  fifty 
feet  from  the  starting  line.  The  Eighth  Year 
boys  use  this  full  course;  each  boy  in  picking 
up  or  replacing  the  four  potatoes,  runs  a  dis- 
tance of  304  feet,  —  practically  one  hundred 
yards.  For  the  Seventh  Year,  we  bring  up  the 
starting  line  ten  feet,  which  automatically 
shortens  the  total  distance  run  by  eighty 
feet,  making  it  224  feet, — about  seventy-five 
yards.  For  the  Sixth  Year,  we  leave  off  the 
farthest  potato,  thus  again  reducing  the  total 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      45 

distance  by  eighty  feet,  making  it  144  feet,  or 
about  fifty  yards.  For  the  Fifth  Year,  we 
bring  up  the  starting  line  five  feet  more,  using 
three  potatoes  as  before,  thus  making  the 
run  114  feet,  or  about  forty  yards. 

In  each  of  the  remaining  exercises  we  have 
established  what  we  call  minimum  standards; 
that  is,  each  boy  of  a  certain  grade  must  chin 
the  bar  so  many  times,  jump  so  many  feet 
and  inches,  etc.,  or  he  scores  a  zero.  When 
he  reaches  the  minimum  in  any  exercise,  he 
scores  five  points.  Then,  as  he  is  able  to  do 
more,  he  earns  more  points,  according  to  a 
carefully  graded  system,  to  be  explained  later 
in  detail. 

In  order  to  keep  something  like  a  balance 
between  the  various  events  and  to  discourage 
excess  in  any  one  exercise,  it  is  provided  that 
no  one  can  earn  more  than  fifteen  points  in 
any  exercise. 

MINIMUM  STANDARDS  AND  SCALE 
OF  CREDITS 

Chinning  the  Bar 

5A     5B     GA     GB     7A     ?B     SA     SB 
Min.      34567777 


46   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  One  point  more  is  allowed  for  each  pull 
up  beyond  that,  but  no  boy  is  allowed  to  earn 
more  than  fifteen  points.  This  means  that  an 
SB  boy  is  not  allowed  to  chin  the  bar  more  than 
seventeen  times.  The  standards  remain  the 
same  through  the  Seventh  and  Eighth  Years. 

Standing  Broad  Jump 
SA  Grade,  Minimum  4  ft.  3  ins. 

SB  4   "  6  " 

GA  4   "  9  " 

GB  5   "  0  " 

7A  5   "  3  " 

TB  5   "  6  " 

SA       "  "  5   "  9  " 

SB       "  "  6   "  0  " 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  Three  points  more  are  allowed  for 
every  six  inches  jumped  beyond  that,  but  no 
boy  is  allowed  to  earn  more  than  fifteen  points. 

Combination  Dip 
5A     3  times  7A      7  times 

SB     4      "  7B      "      " 

6A     5      "  SA      "      " 

6B     6      "  SB      "      " 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      47 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  One  point  more  is  allowed  for  every 
combination  dip  beyond  that,  with  the  limit 
at  fifteen  points,  as  before.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  standards  are  the  same  as  for  Chinning 
the  Bar. 

Hop,  Step,  and  Leap 
Each  class  is  divided  into  three  groups: 

A     Boys  under  4  ft.  6  ins. 
B  "      5  "  0   " 

C        "      over    5  "  0   " 

ABC 

5A  and  5B  must  cover  16  ft.    18  ft.    20  ft. 

GA  and  6B      "  18  "      20  "      22  " 

7A  to    SB      "          "      20  "      22  "      24  " 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  One  point  more  is  allowed  for  every 
foot  beyond  that,  up  to  the  limit  of  fifteen 
points. 

High  Jump 

As  in  the  Hop,  Step,  and  Leap,  the  standards 
depend  on  height  and  grade. 


48       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

Under  Under          Over 

4  ft.  6  ins.  (A)      5ft.  (B)      5ft.(C} 
5th  Year  Min.  2  ft.  6  in.    2  ft.  9  in.    3  ft.  0  in. 
6th    "          "     2   "    9"      3  "   0  "     3  "   3    " 
7th    "           "    3   "    0"      3  "   3  "     3  "   6   " 
8th    "  "    3   "    3"      3  "   6  "     3  "   9   " 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  One  point  more  is  allowed  for  every 
inch  beyond  that;  limit,  fifteen  points. 

Putting  the  Shot 

5A  Min.  16  ft.  7A  Min.  20  ft. 

SB             17   "  7B  21   " 

6A            18  "  SA  22  " 

6B             19   "  SB  23  " 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  One  point  more  is  allowed  for  every 
foot  beyond  that,  up  to  the  limit  of  fifteen 
points,  as  before. 

Deep  Breathing:  Chest  Expansion 
5  A  —  SB     6A  —  6s      7A  —  7B      SA  —  SB 
Min.     If  ins.        2    ins.          2|  ins.        2|  ins. 

2^  2^  2^  3 

C)3.     66  Q         c<  Qi     "  Qi     " 

^4  &  ^4.  ^2 

Mav       S1    "  S1    "  S3-    "  4       " 

J-fXClA.  «J/|  \J  2  4: 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       49 

Those  reaching  the  minimum,  score  five 
points.  Three  points  more  are  allowed  for  the 
first  half  inch  beyond  that;  three  for  the  next 
half  inch;  and  four  for  the  next;  the  maxi- 
mum, as  in  the  other  exercises,  being  fifteen. 

This  completes  the  scoring  system  as  it 
now  stands.  Of  course  the  system  is  flexible, 
and  standards  will  have  to  be  changed  as  the 
boys  become  more  proficient,  the  aim  being 
to  keep  the  minimum  within  the  reach  of  the 
great  majority  after  reasonable  practice,  and 
the  maximum  high  enough  to  be  attained  by 
only  a  few  of  the  best.  The  rating  of  Senior 
or  First  Class  Athlete  must  not  be  cheapened 
by  being  made  too  common.  (See  Frontis.} 

The  maximum  number  of  points  obtainable 
at  present  is  145,  which  allows  a  generous 
amount  of  leeway  as  the  standards  are  now; 
that  is,  Junior,  60;  Intermediate,  80;  Senior, 
100.  When  the  boys  become  more  proficient 
and  enough  of  them  qualify  for  the  higher 
ratings  to  lower  the  value  of  the  latter,  the 
standards  will  be  raised  to,  say  —  Junior, 
80;  Intermediate,  100;  Senior,  120. 

This  year  the  Boys'  Athletic  Association 
has  provided  a  silver  button  to  be  given  to 
the  boys  who  qualify  as  Senior  or  First  Class 


50   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

Athletes.  (See  Cover  Design.)  This  button  dif- 
fers from  the  Athletic  Badge  of  the  P.  S.  A.  L., 
in  that  there  are  no  scholarship  or  other  eligi- 
bility conditions  attached  to  it.  It  is  a  prize 
for  excellence  in  physical  training,  pure  and 
simple.  One  of  the  remarkable  things  about 
this  system  is  that  we  do  away  entirely  with 
"eligibility  rules."  Every  boy  in  the  school, 
good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  is  entitled  to,  and 
receives,  the  best  that  we  can  give  him  in  the 
way  of  physical  training.  This  does  away 
with  all  question  of  unfairness  in  marking 
and  with  all  possibility  of  scandal  in  connec- 
tion with  athletics.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we 
find  that  the  class  and  school  spirit  developed 
by  this  method  is  quite  as  effective,  in  a  dis- 
ciplinary way,  as  anything  that  can  be  claimed 
for  the  old  system  of  admitting  to  the  school 
team  only  boys  who  have  received  satisfac- 
tory marks. 

This  scoring  system  may  seem  rather  elabo- 
rate and  complicated,  but  in  practice  it  will  be 
found  simple  enough.  Each  class  has  to  re- 
member only  the  minima  for  their  own  grade, 
which  they  learn  very  quickly.  A  number  of 
devices  have  been  worked  out  for  simplifying 
the  scoring,  which  will  be  explained  in  the 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      51 

succeeding  chapters.  In  any  case,  the  squad 
leaders  will  take  care  of  all  that,  thus  reliev- 
ing the  teacher  of  any  bother  in  connection 
with  the  scoring. 

About  once  a  month,  the  men  in  charge  of 
the  upper  classes  give  a  few  of  their  free 
periods,  or  some  time  after  school  hours,  to 
testing  the  classes.  The  results  of  these  tests 
are  posted  on  a  big  chart  which  hangs  in  a 
prominent  place  on  the  classroom  wall,  where 
all  can  see  it.  (See  Fig.  3.) 

It  will  be  noticed .  that  the  class  teacher 
has  practically  no  recording  to  do.  At  the 
end  of  the  term  she  simply  transcribes  the 
records  from  the  chart  to  the  Record  Card; 
that  is  all.  In  fact,  the  pupil  who  has 
been  acting  as  clerk  may  do  this  transcribing, 
if  desired. 

THE  BASIS  FOR  OUR  STANDARDS 

A  study  of  the  following  table  of  results 
obtained  by  220  boys  in  the  Fall  Term,  1914, 
will  show  how  our  standards  and  scale  of 
credits  are  determined. 

This  table  shows: 

1.  The  number  of  boys  in  each  grade  who 
failed  (F)  to  reach  the  minimum  for  the  grade. 


52      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


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RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      53 

2.  The  number  who  qualified  (Q) ;    that  is, 
those  who  reached  some  point  between  the 
minimum  and  the  maximum. 

3.  The    number  who  went    the  limit  (Z); 
that  is,  those  who  reached  or  surpassed  the 
maximum  for  the  grade. 

In  Chinning,  we  found  that  33  per  cent,  had 
failed.  It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  the 
standard  was  too  high.  A  study  of  the 
figures  showed  that  there  was  improvement 
up  to  the  Eighth  Year,  where  there  was  a  de- 
cided falling  off.  It  was  evident  that  the 
boys,  arriving  at  the  age  of  puberty,  gaining 
in  weight  more  than  in  strength,  should  not 
be  required  to  reach  a  constantly  rising  mini- 
mum. Consequently  the  minimum  now  re- 
mains at  seven  throughout  the  Seventh  and 
Eighth  Year  grades. 

In  the  Broad  Jump,  we  found  that  only 
11.8  per  cent,  failed  to  qualify;  from  which 
we  concluded  that  our  minimum  was  correct. 
But  no  one  had  reached  the  limit.  Conse- 
quently we  decided  to  give  one  and  a  half 
points  credit  for  every  three  inches,  instead 
of  one  point  as  before.  To  avoid  fractions, 
we  made  it  three  points  for  every  six  inches 
beyond  the  minimum. 


54      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

In  the  Combination  Dip,  we  found  the  same 
condition  as  in  Chinning,  and  evidently  for 
the  same  reason.  The  standards  were  there- 
fore modified  to  correspond  with  the  new 
standards  in  Chinning. 

In  the  Hop,  Step  and  Leap,  we  found  that 
many  boys  in  the  low^er  classes  were  failing 
and  none  at  all  in  the  upper  classes.  Evi- 
dently, therefore,  a  uniform  standard,  de- 
pending on  height  alone,  was  not  correct. 
Consequently  we  lowered  the  minimum  for 
the  Fifth  Year  grades  and  raised  it  for  the  Sev- 
enth and  Eighth,  keeping  the  same  relative 
standards  for  height  as  before. 

In  Trunk  Lifting,  so  many  reached  the 
limit,  that  w^e  decided  that  the  exercise  was 
too  easy.  We  therefore  dropped  it,  substitut- 
ing the  High  Jump,  which  the  boys  had  been 
practicing  all  the  previous  term,  although  they 
had  not  been  rated  in  it.  Tests  made  recently 
gave  us  the  basis  for  our  standards. 

In  the  Shot  Put,  we  found  58  per  cent,  of 
failure.  It  was  evident  that  the  standards 
were  too  high  all  along  the  line,  so  they  were 
reduced  two  feet  for  each  grade. 

In  Deep  Breathing,  the  results  showed  that 
our  standards  were  correct. 


IV.    HOW  THE  WORK  IS  TAKEN  UP 

We  come  now  to  the  question  of  how  the 
boys  get  time  for  the  practice  of  all  these 
exercises,  without  exceeding  the  time  allowed 
for  physical  training. 

To  begin  with,  the  boys  of  each  class  are 
divided  into  three  squads,  each  under  a  cap- 
tain elected  by  themselves.  As  this  squad 
organization  is  at  the  basis  of  all  our  work, 
it  is  most  important  that  the  leaders  be  well 
chosen.  The  best  plan  is  to  have  the  boys 
elect  three,  the  teacher  reserving  the  right  to 
veto  only  in  case  weak  or  otherwise  undesir- 
able boys  are  chosen.  Then  let  these  leaders 
select  their  squads,  one  boy  at  a  time,  in  turn, 
just  as  boys  choose  sides  for  a  game.  Should 
a  leader  be  found  lacking  in  the  qualities 
necessary  for  leadership,  a  new  election  should 
be  held.  In  fact  it  may  be  a  good  plan  to 
change  leaders  occasionally.  There  should 
be  considerable  wholesome  rivalry  between 
the  squads,  each  striving  to  beat  the  others 
and  to  contribute  the  greatest  number  of 

55 


56      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

points  to  the  class  average.  These  squads 
work  together  at  all  times,  both  in  the  class- 
room and  in  the  gymnasium.  Each  squad 
leader  is  provided  with  a  little  notebook  in 
which  he  keeps  the  records  of  his  squad. 

IN  THE  CLASSROOM 

Chinning  bars  have  been  put  up  in  the  door- 
way of  every  classroom  from  Grade  5A,  up. 
At  ten,  eleven,  and  two  o'clock  the  gongs  ring, 
whereupon  each  class  stops  work,  rises,  opens 
the  windows  and  does  the  "  Two  Minute  Drill," 
-the  setting-up  exercise  prescribed  by  the 
course  of  study.  At  ten  o'clock,  squad  number 
one  goes  to  the  doorway  and  practices  Chin- 
ning under  the  charge  of  its  leader,  squad 
number  two  practices  the  Combination  Dip, 
squad  number  three  and  all  the  girls  do  the  set- 
ting-up exercises.  At  eleven  and  at  two  o'clock 
they  change,  so  that  each  squad  does  each 
of  these  three  exercises  at  least  once  in  the 
day.  Changing  the  order  occasionally  may 
be  worth  while.  As  the  boys  become  inter- 
ested, they  find  extra  opportunities  for  prac- 
tice at  odd  moments  before  nine  and  one,  or 
when  they  have  finished  a  piece  of  work  and 
are  waiting  for  the  others.  (See  Fig.  5.) 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      57 

During  the  study  period,  or  while  some 
written  work  is  being  done,  boys  are  allowed 
to  go  up,  one  or  two  at  a  time,  to  practice 
Chinning,  or  to  spreajd  oak  tag  sheets,  or 
wooden  frames  made  for  the  purpose,  on  the 
floor  and  practice  the  Combination  Dip.  It 
is  surprising  how  much  can  be  done  in  this 
way  without  disturbing  the  good  order  of 
the  class  or  distracting  attention  from  the 
regular  work. 

A  visitor  timing  a  boy  one  day,  found  that 
he  left  his  seat,  went  to  the  door,  chinned  the 
bar  thirteen  times,  returned  to  his  seat  and 
resumed  his  work  in  forty -rthree  seconds! 

One  class,  by  getting  in  each  day  a  little 
extra  practice  in  this  way,  ran  up  their  points 
on  these  exercises  so  high  that  we  had  to 
change  our  standards  and  set  limits  that  were 
before  unnecessary. 

Practice  in  Deep  Breathing  or  Chest  Ex- 
pansion is  done  as  part  of  the  "Two  Minute 
Drill."  This  breathing  exercise  as  commonly 
practiced  is  a  good  deal  of  a  farce,  the  chil- 
dren moving  their  shoulders  up  and  down  and 
only  pretending  to  breathe.  But  when  you 
make  it  a  game  which  they  are  playing  to 
win,  when  their  individual  record  and  the 


58      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   59 

winning  of  a  trophy  for  their  class  or  their 
school  may  depend  upon  it,  then  they  really 
do  breathe,  and  deeply,  too!  We  try  to  get 
them  to  form  the  habit  of  doing  this  breath- 


FIG.  6.  —  ONE  OF  THE  BANNERS  AWARDED  IN 
INTER-CLASS  CONTESTS 

ing  exercise  when  they  arise  in  the  morning, 
and  also,  when  they  get  out  in  the  street  on 
their  way  to  or  from  school.  And  we  know 
from  the  improvement  shown  that  we  have 
in  a  great  measure  succeeded. 


60      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

In  testing  the  chest  expansion,  which  is 
done  about  once  a  month  by  one  of  the  men 
teachers,  a  tape  is  passed  around  the  chest 
just  under  the  shoulder  blades  and  the  pec- 
toral muscles,  at  right  angles  to  the  back- 
bone. This  is  what  is  known  as  measuring 
on  the  ninth  rib.  (See  Fig.  7.) 


FIG.  7.  —  TESTING  CHEST  EXPANSION 

In  this  test  the  boy  first  inhales,  then  ex- 
hales as  hard  as  he  can.  The  tape  is  then 
drawn  snug  and  the  teacher  calls  out  the 
measurement,  which  is  put  down  on  the  chart 
by  the  pupil  acting  as  clerk.  Then  the  boy 
again  inhales,  expanding  his  chest  as  much  as 
he  can,  the  tape  is  again  drawn  snug,  and  the 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      61 

measurement  called  off  and  recorded.  The 
difference  is  the  measure  of  expansion.  After 
a  little  practice,  the  teacher  becomes  familiar 
with  the  grade  standards  and  calls  out  the 
number  of  "points." 

The  competition  in  Deep  Breathing,  how- 
ever, is  not  limited  to  the  boys.  Inter-class 
contests,  including  boys  and  girls,  are  con- 
ducted, and  simple  banners  of  blue  felt, 
appropriately  lettered  (see  Fig.  6),  are  awarded 
the  classes  showing  the  best  average  expan- 
sion. The  girls  are  tested  by  some  of  the 
women  teachers,  during  a  physical  training 
period. 

This  completes  the  list  of  exercises  that 
can  be  taken  care  of  in  the  classroom. 

IN  THE  GYMNASIUM 

As  our  classes  are  mixed,  boys  and  girls, 
the  boys  of  two  classes  are  combined  in  a 
physical  training  lesson,  the  girls  combining 
in  the  same  way.  This  usually  brings  six 
squads  in  each  physical  training  class.  The 
lower  classes  take  four  twenty -minute  periods 
a  week;  the  upper  classes  two  forty -minute 
periods.  Of  the  twenty-minute  periods,  two 
are  devoted  to  the  exercises  prescribed  by 


62      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


20|      22|      24|       26|       28|      30| 


® 


n 


I'm 


FIG.  8.  —  FLOOR  PLAN  OF  BOYS'  GYMNASIUM  SHOEING  ARRANGE- 
MENT OF  SQUADS 

the  course  of  study  and  two  are  given  to  our 
own  exercises.  In  the  forty-minute  periods, 
the  lesson  as  a  whole  is  taken  as  outlined  at 
the  beginning  of  the  preceding  chapter,  one- 
half  the  time  being  given  to  the  introductory, 
corrective,  and  educational  work,  and  one- 
half  to  our  own  work.  We  have  thus  two 
twenty-minute  periods  a  week  devoted  to 
this  style  of  athletics. 

At  a  given  signal,  squad  one  goes  to  the 
mat  prepared  for  the  Standing  Broad  Jump; 
squads  two  and  three  line  up  opposite  the 
High  Jump  stands;  squad  four  goes  to  the 
mats  arranged  for  the  Hop,  Step,  and  Leap; 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      63 


FIG.  9.  —  THE  SQUADS  LINE  UP 

squads  five  and  six  take  positions  back  of 
marks  on  opposite  sides  of  the  floor,  for  Shot 
Putting.  (See  Fig.  9.)  At  a  second  signal 


FIG.  10.  —  THE  SQUADS  IN  ACTION 

(Showing  five  squads  at  work,  the   sixth  —  putting   the  shot  —  being 
out  of  range  of  the  camera.) 


64   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


FIG.  11.  —  TAKING  PLACES  FOR  EXERCISE 

they  begin  work,  each  squad  under  the  direc- 
tion of  its  captain,  the  teacher  intervening 
only  when  some  particularly  bad  "form" 
needs  correcting. 

At  the  sound  of  the  whistle,  work 
stops. 

At  "Line  up!"  each  squad  forms  in  line; 
at  "To  Places,  March!"  each  squad,  led  by 
its  captain,  marches  to  the  next  position  on 
the  floor.  Squad  one  goes  to  position  two, 
and  so  on,  squad  six  going  to  position  one. 
When  everybody  is  working,  it  is  remarkable 
how  much  can  be  accomplished  in  two  and 
one-half  to  three  minutes.  In  a  few  lessons 
the  squads  learn  the  order  of  exercises  and 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      65 


FIG.  12. — READY  FOR  EXERCISE 

they  go  from  one  to  another  with  a  spontane- 
ity that  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated. 

When  beginning  the  work  on  any  exercise, 
it  is  necessary  of  course  to  teach  it  to  the 
class  as  a  whole.  Figures  11  and  12  show  a 
class  spreading  sheets  of  oak  tag  or  wrapping 
paper  on  the  floor  preparatory  to  a  lesson 
on  the  Dip.  In  the  same  way  it  is  necessary 
to  teach  the  rudiments  of  even  the  Standing 
Broad  Jump  in  order  to  get  good  results. 
So  also  with  the  Hop,  Step,  and  Leap,  and  the 
Shot  Putting.  These  are  complicated  move- 
ments which  must  be  analyzed  and  taught 
one  part  at  a  time.  For  example: 

Draw  on  the  floor  two  parallel  lines  about 


66   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

four  feet  apart;  have  the  class  run  in  column 
around  the  floor  and  hop  over  the  space 
between  these  two  lines  which  represents  a 
stream  of  water.  Then  have- them  step  over 
it;  then  jump  over  it.  Then  combine  the 
hop  and  the  step;  the  step  and  the  jump; 
and  finally  the  three. 

So  with  Putting  the  Shot:  Teach  first  the 
balancing,  then  the  sudden  twist,  reversing 
the  position  of  the  feet  without  going  over 
the  line,  and  shooting  the  arm  forward.  Only 
when  they  have  mastered  all  this,  should 
the  little  skip  with  which  the  movement  is 
started  be  added.  The  Shot  Put  can  be  taken 
as  a  mimetic  exercise  by  the  class  as  a  whole 
until  the  form  is  learned.  It  is  the  most 
difficult  of  all  the  exercises  and  one  of  the 
most  popular.  (See  Frontispiece.} 

But  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
our  boys,  having  been  started  on  the  road 
toward  securing  a  good  rating  as  athletes 
and  their  interest  having  been  aroused  in 
winning  trophies  for  their  class  or  their  school, 
will  buckle  down  and  learn  these  exer- 
cises, viewing  them  as  a  game  which  they 
want  to  learn  so  that  they  can  play  it  to 
win.  The  word  athlete  is  a  word  to  conjure 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       07 

with.  No  boy  wants  to  take  home  a  report 
showing  that  he  has  failed  to  qualify  even  as 
a  "Third  Class  Athlete."  And  the  husky 
fellows  all  want  to  get  a  Senior  rating. 

Then  again,  the  squads,  if  properly  handled, 
are  competing  against  one  another.  In  any 
case  there  should  be  a  lively  competition 
between  the  classes  of  the  same  grade.  A 
little  banner  or  other  trophy,  presented  in 
assembly  to  the  classes  making  the  best 
showing,  will  be  an  added  incentive.  And 
then  if  the  school  is  in  competition,  grade 
by  grade,  with  neighboring  schools,  the  school 
spirit,  so  easily  aroused,  will  be  another  incen- 
tive to  the  boys  to  master  the  details  of  the 
exercises  as  soon  as  possible  and  to  acquire 
proficiency  in  them. 

This  personal,  impelling  incentive  is  the 
essence  of  "Rational  Athletics."  It  is  this 
incentive,  appealing  to  the  boy  in  so  many 
different  ways,  that  distinguishes  this  system 
from  any  and  all  others. 


V.   THE  EXERCISES  AND  APPARATUS 

CHINNING  THE  BAR 

Regular  chinning  bars  for  classroom  doors 
can  be  ordered  from  the  Supply  Department; 
but  any  stout  bar,  securely  fastened,  will  do. 
A  box,  or  short  steps  for  the  little  fellows  to 
climb  up  on,  is  better  than  using  a  chair. 
Wooden  cleats  fastened  on  either  side  of  the 
door  frame,  a  foot  or  so  from  the  floor,  make 
a  handy  means  of  climbing  up  to  the  bar. 
The  bar  should  be  placed  so  as  to  avoid  as 
far  as  possible  the  danger  of  striking  the  head 
against  the  top  of  the  door  frame. 

The  boy  must  first  hang  from  the  bar,  arms 
and  legs  straight,  then  pull  himself  up  so  that 
his  chin  is  just  over  the  bar.  It  must  be  a 
dead  pull  up,  no  snap,  swing,  or  kick  being 
allowed.  Boys  who  are  unable  to  pull  them- 
selves up  at  all  should  practice  rope  climbing. 

STANDING  BROAD  JUMP 

Boys  should  be  trained  to  make  one  good 
stretch,  gather  themselves  together  for  a 

68 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   69 

spring,  and  then  to  jump  high,  gathering  their 
feet  under  them  and  swinging  the  arms  for- 
ward, sharply,  but  landing  in  such  a  way 
as  to  fall  forward.  To  fall  or  step  back  after 
landing  constitutes  a  foul.  We  find  that  it 
pays  to  have  one  boy  hold  a  stick  about  a 


FIG.  13.  —  THE  STANDING  BROAD  JUMP 

foot  from  the  ground  so  that  the  boys  must 
jump  over  it.  As  a  rule  boys  fail  to  get  dis- 
tance because  they  don't  jump  high  enough. 
Attention  is  invited  to  our  arrangement 
of  the  mat  for  jumping.  (See  Fig.  13.}  One 
end  of  a  regular  ten-foot  gymnasium  mat  is 
bolted  to  a  board  running  under  the  mat. 
At  the  middle  of  this  board,  another,  at  right 


70      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

angles  to  it,  connects  it  with  a  jumping  plat- 
form about  eighteen  inches  square.  This  is 
not  a  spring  board,  but  simply  a  solid  plat- 
form of  two  thicknesses  of  seven-eighths  inch 
boards,  covered  with  a  square  of  ordinary 
rubber  stair-tread.  This  gives  the  jumper 
a  solid,  non-slipping  platform,  about  on  a 
level  with  the  mat.  He  is  not  allowed  to 
use  the  edge  of  this  board  as  a  take-off, 
but  must  jump  from  behind  a  line  marked  on 
the  rubber.  This  platform  is  bolted  to  the 
wooden  crosspiece  with  stout  hinges,  so  that, 
when  not  in  use,  it  may  be  thrown  over  on 
the  mat,  and  the  whole  thing  rolled  up  and 
put  out  of  the  way. 

Measuring  from  the  line  marked  on  the 
jumping  platform,  lines  are  painted  three 
inches  apart  on  the  mat.  These  are  marked 
every  six  inches,  on  one  side  beginning  with 
four  feet  three  inches,  the  minimum  for  5A, 
and  on  the  other  side  beginning  with  four 
feet  six  inches,  the  minimum  for  SB.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  measure  each  jump  with  a 
tape  line,  as  the  jumper  is  credited  with  the 
distance  of  the  last  line  which  he  cleared  on 
the  mat.  To  make  it  easy  to  convert  the  dis- 
tance jumped  into  "points"  according  to  our 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      71 


FIG.  14.  —  COMBINATION  DIP:    FIRST  COUNT 

system,  use  a  board  six  feet  long  and  about 
six  inches  wide,  with  fcrosslines  six  inches 
apart,  marked  5,  6,  7,  etc.  The  line  marked 
5  is  placed  alongside  of  the  line  on  the  mat 
that  measures  the  minimum  distance  for  that 
grade.  By  the  use  of  this  device  of  a  movable 
bar,  the  person  in  charge  can  tell  at  a  glance 
just  how  many  points  each  jumper  earns. 

COMBINATION  DIP 

The  Combination  Dip  is  one  of  the  best 
all-around  exercises  known.  It  brings  into 
play  the  arms,  shoulders,  back,  loins,  and  legs. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  keep  the  hips  high 
and  the  back  flat,  avoiding  the  "sway -back" 


72   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


FIG.  15.  —  COMBINATION  DIP:    SECOND  COUNT 

position,   which  is   not  good.     It  is   done   as 
follows : 

1.  Place  the  hands  on  the  floor,  the  width 
of  the  shoulders  apart. 

2.  Stretch   the  legs   straight  back,   resting 
the  weight  on  the  hands  and  toes. 

3.  Bend  the  arms  until  the  chest  (not  ab- 
domen nor  knees)  touches,  or  nearly  touches, 
the  floor. 

4.  Straighten  the  arms. 
5-6.    Dip  again. 

7-8.    Dip  a  third  time. 

9.  Bring  up  the  feet  to  the  crouching  posi- 
tion (same  as  in  1). 

10.  Stand  erect. 
11-12.   Rest. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   73 


FIG.  16.  —  COMBINATION  DIP:    THIRD  COUNT 

1.   Begin  again,  repeating  the  twelve  counts. 

The  twelve  counts  constitute  one  Combina- 
tion Dip.  When  the  boys  have  mastered  the 
details,  the  leader  should  count  at  a  uniform 
rate  of  about  forty  to  the  minute,  emphasizing 
the  odd  numbers. 

In  teaching  this  exercise  to  the  class,  oak 
tag  sheets  or  wrapping  paper  should  be  spread 
on  the  floor  as  shown  in  Figures  11  and  12. 
In  practice,  we  use  little  wooden  frames,  con- 
sisting of  two  handles  nailed  to  two  cross- 
pieces  about  the  width  of  a  boy's  shoulders 
apart.  In  testing,  we  place  a  platform  bell 
on  this  frame  which  the  boy  must  ring  by 
pressing  on  it  with  his  chest  at  each  dip. 
(See  Fig.  17.} 


74      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


FIG.  17.  —  TESTING  THE  COMBINATION  DIP 


HOP,  STEP,  AND  LEAP 

In  this  the  boy  takes  a  running  start,  then 
springs  from  his  right  foot,  landing  on  his 
right  (hop),  then  on  his  left  (step),  and  then 
on  both  feet  (leap).  It  is  an  exercise  that  is 
popular  with  boys,  but,  contrary  to  usual 
expectations,  requires  some  careful  teaching 
before  many  of  them  get  it  right. 

For  this  exercise  we  use  a  rubber  jumping 
mat  on  the  floor,  and  three  or  four  regular 
gymnasium  mats  in  series,  covering  something 
over  thirty  feet,  in  all.  A  broad  white  line  is 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   75 

painted  on  the  floor  and  on  the  rubber  mat, 
about  fifteen  inches  from  the  end.  This  is  the 
starting  line;  and  each  boy  must  learn  to 
run  and  toe  this  line  as  nearly  as  possible  just 
before  he  makes  his  hop. 

Beginning  at  sixteen  feet  from  the  start- 
ing line,  lines  one  foot  apart  are  painted  on 
the  floor  alongside  of  the  mats  and  marked 
16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  etc.  The  rubber  mat  with 
its  starting  line  is  easily  kept  in  place.  The 
other  mats  will  shift  and  "creep"  a  little, 
but  as  the  distances  are  marked  on  the  floor, 
this  does  not  matter. 

As  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the 
minimum  distance  in  this  exercise  depends 
upon  the  boys'  height, -- those  under  four 
feet  six  inches  having  to  cover  sixteen  feet, 
and  so  on,  up. 

The  boys  are  measured  and  marked  A,  B, 
and  C  in  the  squad  leader's  book.  He  then 
knows  what  they  have  to  do. 

HIGH  JUMP 

For  practice  in  the  High  Jump  we  provide 
two  sets  of  jumping  bars,  one  for  the  little 
fellows,  and  one  for  the  big  fellows  who  can 


76   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

jump  higher.  The  two  squads  break  up  au- 
tomatically, each  boy  going  to  the  bar  that 
is  placed  at  the  height  that  suits  him  best. 
An  ordinary  gymnasium  mat  is  placed  behind 
each  bar  for  the  boys  to  land  on,  and  a  square 
yard  of  corrugated  rubber  is  placed  in  front, 
from  which  they  can  "take  off"  without 
danger  of  slipping. 

In  jumping,  as  in  practically  all  other 
sports,  the  tyro  invariably  starts  wrong. 
The  favorite,  and  apparently  natural,  way  to 
do  the  High  Jump,  is  to  go  over  the  bar  side- 
ways. It  is  easy,  however,  to  demonstrate 
that  the  boy  who  uses  the  side  jump  must 
lift  his  body  high  enough  to  go  over  the  bar 
in  a  sitting  position,  his  hips  clearing  the  bar 
and  his  body  nearly  vertical. 

It  pays  in  the  end  to  learn  the  more  diffi- 
cult straight  jump,  --in  which,  taking  off,  say, 
with  the  right  foot,  the  left  leg  is  thrown  high 
and  straight  to  the  front,  the  right  foot  be- 
ing then  snapped  over  in  front  of  the  left 
knee,  the  body  clearing  the  bar,  feet  first,  in  an 
almost  horizontal  position.  Taking  off  with 
the  right  and  throwing  the  left  leg  up,  natu- 
rally turns  the  body  so  that  it  goes  over  the 
bar  facing  to  the  right.  Taking  off  with 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       77 

the  left  foot  would,  of  course,  turn  the  body 
the  other  way.  The  important  point  is,  that 
shooting  over  the  bar,  feet  first,  necessitates 
raising  the  weight  of  the  trunk  only  a  foot  or 
so,  while  the  side  jump  requires  lifting  the 
body  high  enough  to  sit  up  on  the  bar. 

Four  things  must  be  observed  by  the  boy 
who  would  master  the  art  of  high  jumping: 

1.  Not  to  run  too  far  or  too  fast;    save  the 
strength  for  the  spring. 

2.  To   be   careful   to   take   off   far   enough 
from  the  bar  to  bring  the  left  leg  up,  straight, 
without  kicking  the  bar. 

3.  To  snap  the  right  leg  over  in  front  of 
the  left,  not  behind  it. 

4.  Not    to     try    for    height    until    he    has 
mastered    the     form,  —  which    may    require 
weeks  of  practice. 

PUTTING  THE  SHOT 

To  begin  with,  we  don't  put  a  "shot." 
That  would  be  rather  dangerous  with  so  many 
boys  on  the  floor.  We  use  instead  a  six 
pound  medicine  ball.  This  is  rather  clumsy, 
which  makes  it  impossible  to  get  perfect  form. 
But  we  come  pretty  near  it,  and  we  get  the 


78      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

spirit  of  the  exercise.  The  boys  like  it  im- 
mensely,—  and  why  shouldn't  they?  It  is  a 
fine  manly  exercise,  one  that  they  can  follow 
up  outside  of  school  and  in  after  years,  - 
which  is  one  of  the  great  objects  of  the  sys- 
tem; namely,  to  get  boys,  all  of  them,  inter- 
ested in  wholesome  outdoor  sports  and  to  help 
them  secure  such  a  degree  of  proficiency  that 
they  can  enter  into,  and  take  part  in  sport 
anywhere. 

Two  lines,  seven  feet  apart,  painted  on  the 
floor,  indicate  the  seven  foot  circle.  Begin- 
ning at  sixteen  feet  from  the  starting  line, 
measuring  lines,  one  foot  apart,  are  painted 
on  the  floor,  marked  on  one  side,  16,  18,  20, 
22,  24,  etc.,  and  on  the  other  17,  19,  21,  23, 
25,  etc.  Thus  the  squad  leader  can  see  at 
a  glance  how  many  feet  each  boy  "puts." 
At  the  other  end  of  the  gymnasium  and  a 
little  to  one  side,  another  "circle"  and  set 
of  lines  run  in  the  opposite  direction. 

Two  squads  are  engaged  in  putting  the 
shot  at  the  same  time  and  two  medicine 
balls  are  in  use.  Squad  one  "puts"  down  on 
one  side,  the  ball  is  stopped  and  rolled  over 
to  one  of  squad  two,  who  "puts"  it  back 
on  the  other  side.  So  the  two  balls  are  kept 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   79 

circulating  and  no  time  is  lost  in  send- 
ing them  back  to  the  starting  line.  With 
three  balls  in  use  there  would  be  even 
less  slack,  or  loss  of  time.  And  time  is  the 
big  factor  where  you  want  to  make  "tries" 
at  four  different  things  inside  of  twenty 
minutes. 

We  find  that,  once  the  exercises  are  learned 
and  the  boys  trained  to  change  positions 
quickly  and  in  good  order,  an  ordinary  class, 
of  say  forty-five  boys,  six  squads  of  seven  or 
eight  boys  each,  may  have  several  chances  each 
at  every  one  of  the  exercises. 

When  we  introduce  pitching,  we  shall 
have  only  one  squad,  divided  into  two  parts, 
doing  the  High  Jump.  The  point  is  that 
three  squads  in  a  class,  six  squads  in  a  com- 
bined class,  is  a  convenient  number,  and  we 
shall,  therefore,  continue  to  have  six  different 
"positions"  on  the  floor  of  the  gymnasium 
for  these  six  squads. 

The  target  for  practice  in  pitching  (See 
Fig.  18}  deserves  a  word  of  explanation  here. 
On  a  regular  gymnasium  mat,  we  have 
painted  a  diagram,  in  height  between  an 
average  boy's  knee  and  shoulder,  representing 
the  space  over  the  home  plate,  and  within 


80      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

which  a  ball  must  be  placed  to  be  called  a 
"strike." 

As  the  art  of  pitching  consists  of  fooling 
the  batter  by   "cutting  the  corners"   of  the 


FIG.  18.  —  TARGET  FOR  PRACTICE  IN  PITCHING 

plate,  we  have  marked  off  the  four  corners 
and  numbered  them.  The  pitcher  who  can 
place  four  out  of  six  balls  in  the  four  corners 
of  the  target  scores  ten  points  —  the  sum  of 
1,  2,  3,  and  4.  If  he  places  three,  he  scores 
nine;  two,  scores  seven;  one,  scores  four.  But 
down  the  middle  of  the  target  there  is  painted 
a  narrow  space  called  "the  groove."  If  he 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       81 

places  the  ball  there,  it  is  squarely  over  the 
middle  of  the  plate,  and  the  batter  is  cred- 
ited with  having  made  a  hit.  That  stops  the 
pitcher.  Each  boy  is  given  six  baseballs. 
He  can  waste  two  on  "balls"  and  yet  make 
a  perfect  score  of  ten.  But  the  moment  he 
places  one  in  the  "groove,"  he  must  stop  and 
give  way  to  the  next  boy,  scoring  only  what 
he  has  made  up  to  that  point. 

At  the  beginning,  a  distance  of  about  thirty 
feet  will  be  found  sufficient.  As  the  boys 
improve  in  control  of  the  ball,  the  distance 
can  be  increased  up  to  the  regulation  distance 
of  the  pitcher's  box.  This  game  is  not  yet  in 
regular  use,  but  it  has  been  tried  with  a  few 
of  the  boys,  who  found  it  so  fascinating  that 
they  didn't  want  to  quit  practicing. 

The  exercises  here  described  and  the  order 
in  which  they  are  taken  up  in  a  lesson  have 
been  arranged  with  considerable  care,  after 
some  years  of  experiment  and  practice.  We 
do  not  claim  to  have  discovered  an  ideal  set 
of  exercises,  but  we  do  believe  that  with  the 
incentive  supplied  by  the  ever-present  idea 
of  competition,  our  boys  are  receiving  a  train- 
ing that  makes  for  the  five  aims  mentioned 
in  the  introductory  chapter, — health,  strength, 


82      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

grace,  love  of  wholesome  sports,  and  the 
courage  and  pluck  that  "goes  the  limit,"  but 
without  a  thought  of  unfairness.  We  know 
that  when  our  boys  have  finished  the  ex- 
ercises above  described,  they  have  received 
what  Dr.  Crampton  calls  for,  when  he  says: 
"We  want  in  every  lesson  a  strong  vasomotor 
reaction,  the  heart  and  lungs  stimulated, 
the  skin  reddened,  the  viscera  squeezed  and 
jarred,  and  each  muscle  given  its  appropriate 
work  and  growth  stimulation." 

If  the  reader  will  try  the  exercises  himself, 
he  will  probably  agree  with  this  statement. 


VI.   SOME  RESULTS  ACHIEVED 

This  system  of  athletics  for  all  boys  origi- 
nated in  Public  School  2,  Manhattan,  in  the 
Winter  of  1909-10.  In  June,  1910,  the  boys 
of  No.  2,  who  had  never  before  been  heard 
from  in  athletics,  missed  the  district  cham- 
pionship by  only  one  point!  In  June,  1911, 
they  captured  the  district  championship  quite 
handily,  and  in  June,  1912,  they  declined 
even  to  send  a  team  to  compete.  They 
were  too  busy  working  up  their  rational  sys- 
tem of  athletics  for  all,  to  spend  any  time 
in  developing  a  picked  team  to  represent  the 
school.  As  a  result  they  captured  every  trophy 
for  Class  Athletics  for  which  they  were  eli- 
gible to  compete  during  that  entire  year.  (See 
P.  S.  A.  L.  Handbook,  1912,  and  cut  on  p.  85.) 

Unfortunately,  just  at  that  time,  the  author 
was  transferred  to  his  present  school  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  Bronx,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary to  begin  again  "from  scratch." 

83 


84   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

The  system  has  now  been  in  use  here  for 
nearly  two  years  and  the  results  have  been 
quite  as  startling  in  many  ways. 

In  the  Standing  Broad  Jump,  the  minimum 
has  remained  the  same,  but  the  number 
qualifying  and  the  scores  made  have  improved 
greatly. 

In  the  Combination  Dip  and  the  Trunk 
Lifting,  we  were  forced  to  put  a  limit  to  the 
number  of  points  that  could  be  won,  because 
so  many  boys,  after  a  few  months,  could 
keep  on  doing  these  exercises  almost  indefi- 
nitely. Finally,  as  stated  before,  we  dropped 
Trunk  Lifting  as  being  too  easy. 

In  the  Hop,  Step  and  Leap,  whereas  at  the 
beginning  it  was  only  the  exceptional  boy 
who  could  qualify,  it  is  now  the  exception 
who  does  not  go  beyond  the  minimum 
standard. 

In  Putting  the  Shot,  the  progress  has  not 
been  so  marked.  This  is  due  partly  to  the 
inherent  difficulty  of  the  exercise,  but  mostly 
to  the  fact  that  the  medicine  ball  which  we 
use  is  rather  clumsy.  The  boys  find  it  almost 
impossible  to  balance  that  big  ball  on  the 
hand  while  doing  the  skip  and  the  twist  neces- 
sary for  a  good  "put."  We  expect  soon  to 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   85 


86       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

secure  a  smaller  ball  of  the  same  weight. 
When  that  is  put  into  use,  the  scores  for 
the  Shot  Putting  will  undoubtedly  show  a 
big  rise. 

In  Deep  Breathing  some  remarkable  results 
have  been  achieved.  One  class  showed  an 
average  increase  of  over  one  inch  in  expansion, 
in  less  than  three  months.  This,  of  course, 
is  exceptional.  But  a  typical  example  of 
improvement  is  shown  by  comparing  the 
records  of  the  8 A  class  in  November,  1913  - 
Average,  2.92  inches,  —  with  the  SA  record 
in  November,  1914  —  Average,  3.34  inches! 
And  in  taking  these  records,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  no  boy  is  credited  with  more 
than  four  inches  expansion,  even  if  he  does 
go  beyond  that. 

The  following  figures,  taken  last  term  from 
the  records  of  a  7 A  class,  will  show  the  im- 
provement attained  by  one  group  of  boys, 
the  first  figure  in  each  column  indicating  the 
boy's  record  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  and 
the  second  figure,  the  record  at  the  end: 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS       87 


Chinning 

Comb.  Dip 

Br.  Jump 

H.  S.  &  L. 

O'Connor  

times 
6-10 

times 
0-  9 

feet 
53-63 

feet 
20-26 

Colonel  

6-14 

0-15 

46-53 

18-22 

Latronico 

5-11 

10-15 

53-59 

17-22 

Chaffee 

2-  9 

0-15 

53-69 

18-22 

Brooks  

4-18 

12-32 

69-73 

20-30 

Wolf  

2-  9 

0-15 

5  -59 

18-24 

IMorse 

0-  6 

2-  9 

53-59 

16-22 

Cartier 

7-13 

15-37 

59.79 

22-32 

VII.  THE  PENTATHLON 

Athletic  contests  between  schools  are  un- 
questionably a  great  help  in  developing  what 
we  call "  school  spirit,"-  -that  sense  of  unity  and 
of  pride  in  the  institution  of  which  we  are  a 
part.  This  appeals  to  all,  whether  contestants 
or  not,  but  how  much  more  keenly  to  those 
who  take  part,  than  to  those  who  only  look 
on !  It  is  such  a  fine  thing  to  feel  that  we  have 
helped  to  win  that  trophy  for  our  school, 
that  we  took  part  in  that  contest  and  did  our 
best,  even  though  we  did  lose! 

Then  why  not  give  every  one  possible  a 
chance  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  school 
athletic  competitions?  Why  should  that 
privilege  be  reserved  for  just  a  few,  and  that 
few  very  often  not  the  most  desirable  mem- 
bers of  the  school?  Why  should  the  compe- 
titions be  of  such  a  character  as  necessarily 
to  allow  only  a  few  to  take  part?  Why 
shouldn't  every  one  in  good  health  be  given 
the  keen  pleasure  and  the  valuable  training, 
physical  and  moral,  that  are  the  fruits  of 

88 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   89 

honest  athletic  competition?  And  why  should 
not  the  contests  be  of  such  a  character  as  to 
engage  the  largest  possible  number  and,  at 
the  same  time,  show  the  results  of  good  all- 
around  physical  training? 

These  are  purely  rhetorical  questions,  of 
course,  and  there  is  but  one  answer  to  them 
that  is  worth  considering.  Indeed  the  answer 
is  so  self-evident,  that  a  number  of  interest- 
ing plans  have  already  been  worked  out  by 
physical  training  directors  in  different  parts 
of  the  country. 

''The  Schoolboy  Pentathlon"  is  our  con- 
tribution to  this  phase  of  the  work.  It  is  our 
plan  for  inter-school  athletics.  For  more  than 
three  years  now  our  "school  team"  has  con- 
sisted of  80  per  cent,  of  the  boys  on  register 
in  all  the  classes  from  the  Fifth  to  the  Eighth 
school  year.  We  have  challenged  the  schools 
in  our  neighborhood,  large  and  small,  to  match 
their  boys  against  ours,  grade  by  grade,  in  a 
series  of  competitions. 

We  have  borrowed  the  old  Greek  idea  of 
the  Pentathlon,  the  five  contests  of  which 
constitute  an  all-around  championship.  We 
have  modified  and  substituted  to  meet  con- 
ditions, so  that  we  now  offer  two  sets  of  exer- 


90       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


FIG.  19.  —  PENTATHLON  TROPHY 

cises  by  way  of  variety,  —  one  for  use  during 
the  Fall  Term,  and  one  during  the  Spring 
Term. 

THE  PENTATHLON 
Fall  Term  Spring  Term 


Running 
Deep  Breathing 
Combination  Dip 
Standing  Broad  Jump 
Chinning  the  Bar 


Running 

Deep  Breathing 

High  Jump 

Hop,  Step,  and  Leap 

Shot  Put 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   91 

With  the  permission  and  encouragement  of 
Dr.  Taylor,  District  Superintendent,  circulars 
were  sent  out  to  the  various  schools  of  the  dis- 
trict, inviting  them  to  compete.  Five  schools 
accepted  the  invitation.  Next,  circulars  de- 
scribing the  exercises  were  sent  out,  then 
conferences  were  held  with  representatives  of 
these  schools,  and  finally  2220  boys  trained 
and  competed. 

The  parents  of  our  boys  liked  the  plan  so 
well  that  a  number  of  them  contributed  from 
one  to  ten  dollars  each  to  a  fund  to  purchase 
a  permanent  set  of  trophies.  About  one  hun- 
dred dollars  was  contributed  in  this  way,  with 
which  a  specially  designed  set  of  wooden 
plaques,  with  pendant  bars  for  each  grade, 
was  purchased.  (See  Fig.  19.)  These  plaques 
remain  in  the  possession  of  the  school  that 
wins  them,  until  won  by  another  school. 

Of  the  eight  grade  trophies  (5 A  to  SB), 
four  were  won  by  our  boys,  two  by  Public 
School  13,  one  by  Public  School  42,  and  one 
by  Public  School  8. 

The  manner  of  conducting  these  contests 
is  very  much  like  the  Class  Athletics  con- 
ducted by  the  Public  Schools  Athletic  League. 
Each  school  makes  its  own  tests,  sending  in 


92       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

its  report  to  a  committee  consisting  of  the 
special  teacher  of  physical  training  and  two 
men  selected  from  the  schools  competing. 
These  men  compare  the  reports  and,  with 
the  permission  of  the  authorities,  visit  the 
schools  claiming  the  highest  average  in  each 
grade. 

If  there  are  several  classes  in  a  grade,  they 
draw  lots  and  proceed  to  test  the  class  so 
chosen.  If  that  class  equals  the  record  they 
have  sent  in,  it  is  presumed  that  the  other 
classes  will  do  the  same  and  that  the  report 
is  correct,  the  school  being  thereupon  declared 
the  winner  for  that  grade.  If,  however,  that 
class  upon  being  tested  fails  to  equal  the 
record  sent  in,  the  report  is  presumed  to  be 
incorrect,  the  school  that  stood  second  being 
thereupon  tested.  Where  there  are  several 
grades  to  be  tested  in  the  same  school,  the 
members  of  the  committee  divide  the  classes 
between  them,  so  that  in  two,  or  at  the  most, 
three  afternoons,  all  the  necessary  testing  can 
be  done.  Where  one  class  claims  an  average 
very  much  higher  than  the  others  in  the  same 
school,  we  arrange  that  this  class  must  also 
be  tested  by  the  committee. 

We   claim   for   this   method   of   conducting 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   93 

inter-school     contests    the    following     advan- 
tages : 

1.  It  does  away  with  all  questions  of  "eligi- 
bility"   -the     great     stumbling     block     and 
source  of  scandal  in  amateur  athletics. 

2.  It  actively  engages  practically  every  boy 
who  is  physically  able  to  compete,  —  all  re- 
sults being  based  on  the  achievements  of  80 
per  cent,  of  the  register  of  each  grade. 

3.  It  prevents  all  possibility   of   "framing 
up"  a  class,  or  training  one  class  and  neg- 
lecting the  others. 

4.  It  gives  every  boy  an  incentive  for  vigor- 
ous training  in  good  all-around  exercises,  while 
avoiding,    absolutely,    the    danger    of    injury 
from  over-training. 

The  plan  has  now  passed  the  experimental 
stage.  It  has  been  tried  with  success  in  two 
widely  different  sections  of  the  city, --the 
crowded  lower  East  Side  of  Manhattan,  and 
the  sparsely  inhabited  upper  part  of  the 
Bronx.  It  has  been  approved  and  recom- 
mended for  general  adoption  by  the  Board 
of  Education  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  is 
frankly  offered  as  a  substitute  for  the  present 
style  of  inter-school  athletics. 

Any  other  exercises  having  a  real  physical 


94   RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS   95 

training  value,  and  capable  of  exact  measure- 
ment, may  be  substituted  at  will.  In  con- 
ducting these  inter-school  competitions,  we 
have,  so  far,  used  our  "point  system"  and 
minimum  standards.  But  it  would  be  quite 
feasible  to  disregard  the  minimum  standards 
and  the  "points,"  simply  taking  the  average 
in  each  event  and  awarding  the  prize  to  the 
grade  winning  the  most  events. 

Two  neighboring  schools  could  easily  con- 
duct a  dual  "meet"  on  a  Field  Day,  by  agree- 
ing in  advance  on  a  set  of  exercises,  putting 
in  the  field  80  per  cent,  of  their  boys,  and 
awarding  the  victory,  as  above  suggested,  to 
the  school  winning  the  majority  of  the  events. 
Properly  organized  and  handled,  the  boys  of 
two  large  schools  can  be  put  through  a  set  of, 
say,  three  events,  in  a  little  over  two  hours. 

A  FIELD  DAY  OF  RATIONAL  ATHLETICS 

In  the  appendix  will  be  found  reproductions 
of  three  programs  of  Field  Days  conducted 
under  this  system  in  1912,  1913,  and  1914, 
respectively. 

In  arranging  a  program  for  a  Field  Day, 
three  factors  must  be  considered: 


96       RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

1.  The  amount  of  good  and  the  amount  of 
fun  the  children  are  going  to  get  out  of  it. 

2.  The  time  the  program  will  take. 

3.  The   interest   of   the   spectators   in   the 
various  events. 

We  find,  as  a  result  of  our  experience  in  the 
past  three  years,  that  we  have  succeeded  per- 
fectly in  the  second  of  these  factors,  but  not 
entirely  in  the  first  and  third. 

With  careful  preparation  and  the  hearty 
cooperation  of  the  class  teachers,  who,  men 
and  women  alike,  have  taken  hold  of  this 
thing  because  they  feel  that  this  kind  of  ath- 
letics is  worth  while,  we  have  been  able  to 
"put  through"  such  elaborate  programs  as 
those  referred  to,  in  about  two  hours!  When 
it  is  realized  that  over  nine  hundred  boys  took 
part  in  the  games  in  1912,  and  when  the  num- 
ber and  variety  of  things  they  did  is  considered, 
this  will  seem  almost  incredible. 

With  respect  to  the  first  factor  referred  to 
above,  we  have  succeeded  to  a  wonderful 
degree  in  making  the  games  intensely  inter- 
esting to  all  the  pupils,  —  boys  and  girls  alike. 
We  have  failed,  however,  in  one  respect, 
mainly  because  a  few  of  the  inter-class  con- 
tests were  so  complicated  that  the  results  had 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      97 

to  be  figured  out  afterward,  thus  making  it 
impossible  to  announce,  then  and  there,  which 
class  had  won.  This  suspense  rather  spoiled 
the  fun  for  the  winning  class.  But  we  shall 
not  make  that  mistake  again. 

Another  detail  in  which  we  failed  is  that, 
in  order  to  equalize  the  numbers  competing 
for  certain  classes,  some  children  were  barred 
who  were  ready  and  anxious  to  compete,  - 
another  mistake  which  we  shall  not  repeat. 
Every  boy  and  girl  who  has  been  favorably 
passed  upon  by  the  doctor,  who  wants  to  enter, 
and  whose  parents  are  willing,  will  be  given  a 
chance  to  take  part. 

In  arranging  the  program  for  our  next  Field 
Day  we  shall  (1)  discard  the  minimum  limits 
and  the  "point  system,"  taking  simply  aver- 
ages; and  (2)  limit  to  two  the  number  of 
events  to  be  competed  for  by  each  group,  - 
one  track  and  one  field  event. 

In  this  way  it  will  be  possible  for  the  results 
to  be  announced  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  competition  and  at  the  same  time  the 
proceedings  will  be  so  simplified  that  the  spec- 
tators, interested  parents  mostly,  can  keep 
track  of  what  is  going  on.  The  main  fault  in 
the  past  has  been,  not  any  lack  of  interest 


98      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

and  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the  children, 
but   rather   that   the   proceedings   have   been 
somewhat    bewildering    to    the     spectator  - 
rather   too    much    like    a    five-ringed    circus, 
where  you  cannot  possibly  see  everything. 

The  program  for  our  next  Field  Day  will 
probably  be  something  like  this: 

SB  Some  running  event  and  Shot  Putting 
SA      "  "        "    High  Jump 

?B      "  "  "        "    Pitching 

7A  "    Hop,     Step,    and 

Leap 
6B      "  "    Standing     Broad 

Jump 

GA      "  "  "    Combination  Dip 

5B      "  "  "        "    Chinning 

5A      "  "  "    Deep  Breathing 

This  is,  of  course,  only  a  tentative  program. 
The  exact  arrangement  of  the  events  would 
be  determined  upon  only  a  week  or  two  before 
the  Field  Day,  to  prevent  anything  like 
specializing  in  certain  exercises. 

Allowing  five  for  a  first,  three  for  a  second, 
and  one  for  a  third,  the  chances  of  a  "tie"  in 
any  event  would  be  small.  When  a  tie  does 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      99 

occur,  the  toss  of  a  coin  should  determine  the 
victor. 

With  such  a  program  as  this,  there  will  not 
be  too  many  events  going  on  at  once,  the 
results  can  be  announced  immediately,  the 
children  will  be  satisfied  in  knowing  who  has 
won,  and  the  spectators  will  be  able  to  keep 
track  of  what  is  going  on. 


^Ik 


CAROLYN  MILLER:   BEST  GIRL  ATHLETE 
Height,  5  ft.  4  in.;  weight,  120  Ibs.;  Age,  13  yrs.  10  mo. 
Rating  in  Posture,  10;  Alertness,  10;  Running,  10;  Hygiene,  10. 
Basket  Ball  Throw,  55  ft.;  Putting  in  Golf,  Average,  2  holes  out  of  3: 
Tennis  Serving,  Average,  2  out  of  3;  Basket  Ball  Goals,  5  in  30  sec.; 
Baseball  Throw,  Average,  13  out  of  15;  Chest  Expansion,  3£  in. 
100 


VIII.   SOME  EXPERIMENTS  WITH 
GIRLS 

The  problem  of  physical  training  for  girls 
has  always  been  a  knotty  one.  Prior  to 
pubescence,  girls  differ  so  little  from  boys  of 
the  same  age  that  they  can  be  treated  very 
much  like  boys,  except  that  exhibitions  that 
would  be  quite  proper  for  boys  would  be  bad 
even  for  small  girls,  because  they  might  tend 
to  destroy  the  maidenly  modesty  that  is,  or 
should  be,  one  of  girlhood's  greatest  charms. 
We  must  carefully  avoid  anything  that  will 
tend  to  make  our  girls  bold. 

When  they  reach  the  age  of  pubescence, 
physiological  factors,  requiring  careful  study 
on  the  part  of  those  who  attempt  anything 
in  the  line  of  athletics  for  girls,  enter  into 
the  problem.  Athletic  competitions,  modeled 
upon  the  intensive  style  of  athletics  now  in 
use  among  boys,  have  proved  to  be  totally 
unsuitable  for  girls.  So  we  have  fallen  back 
upon  folk  dancing,  basket  ball,  walking  clubs, 
and  other  such  activities. 

101 


102     RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

But  we  feel  that  a  system  of  Rational 
Athletics,  with  exercises  specially  adapted  to 
the  tastes  and  the  needs  of  girls,  would  be  a 
long  step  toward  the  solution  of  this  vitally 
interesting  problem.  To  this  end,  we  have 
been  experimenting  during  the  past  year  with 
a  series  of  events  designed  to  give  our  girls 
wholesome  exercise,  to  develop  skill,  agility, 
and  muscular  coordination,  and  to  arouse  an 
interest  in  some  good  outdoor  sports.  With 
this  idea  in  mind  we  have  combined  a  great 
variety  of  running  events  (which  always  ap- 
peal to  girls)  with  a  set  of  exercises  con- 
sisting of: 

1.  Throwing  a  Baseball,  —  for  accuracy. 

2.  Serving  in  Tennis. 

3.  Basket  Ball  Throwing,  —  for  distance. 

4.  "Putting,"  in  Golf. 

5.  "Shooting  Goals"  with  basket  ball. 

This  plan  is  still  in  the  experimental  stage. 
No  standards  and  no  system  of  points  have 
yet  been  worked  out.  But  judging  by  the  way 
the  Eighth  Year  girls  took  hold,  and  by  the 
fact  that  the  Seventh  Year  girls  very  soon 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  try  the  new  exercises 
also,  we  feel  that  we  are  on  the  right  road. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS    103 

The  lesson  for  girls  is  conducted  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  lesson  for  boys.  There  are  six 
squads, --No.  1,  going  to  the  position  for 
the  Baseball  Throw,  No.  2,  to  Serving  in 
Tennis,  No.  3,  to  Putting  in  Golf,  No.  4,  to 


1C* 


"GREEN1' 


Fig.  20.  —  FLOOR  PLAN  OF  GIRLS'  GYMNASIUM  SHOWING 
ARRANGEMENT  OF  SQUADS 


Shooting  Goals,  Nos.  5  and  6,  to  Basket  Ball 
Throw.     (See  Fig.  £0.) 

One  of  the  big  gymnasium  mats  used  by  the 
boys  in  the  Hop,  Step,  and  Leap  has  a  large 
target  painted  on  the  underside.  It  lies  near 
a  doorway  which  is  equipped  with  ropes  and 
pulleys  so  that  the  mat  can  be  drawn  up  and 


104      RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

hung  vertically.  The  girls  stand  about  thirty- 
five  feet  away,  each  one  in  turn  throwing 
three  baseballs  at  the  target.  The  bull's- 
eye  is  twenty  inches  in  diameter,  each  ring 
being  ten  inches  wide.  A  bull's-eye  scores 
five;  a  first  ring  three;  a  second  ring  one; 


FIG.  21.  —  TARGET  FOR  BASEBALL  THROWING 

outside  of  that,  zero.  The  target  is  placed 
in  a  corner  where  no  one  is  likely  to  be  injured 
by  the  flying  balls.  One  girl,  who  is  sta- 
tioned behind  a  big  pillar,  picks  up  the  balls 
and  rolls  them  back. 

To  teach  the  rudiments  of  serving  a  ball 
in  tennis,  a  strip  of  cloth,  three  feet  wide  and 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS     105 

about  ten  feet  long,  is  fastened  to  the  wall 
where  there  is  no  apparatus.  The  lower 
edge  of  the  cloth  is  about  the  height  of  a 
tennis  net  above  the  floor.  To  place  a  ball  in 
the  service  court,  it  must  be  put  over  the  net, 
but  not  so  high  that  it  will  go  beyond  the 
inner  court  on  the  other  side.  We  consider 
that  a  ball  which  strikes  the  strip  of  cloth  is 
"in."  On  our  Field  Day  we  rigged  up  two 
tennis  nets,  one  above  the  other,  with  a  gap 
of  three  feet  between  them.  The  girls,  stand- 
ing at  the  distance  of  the  service  line,  had  to 
place  the  ball  between  the  two  nets.  Anyone 
who  thinks  this  is  child's  play  is  invited  to 
try  it!  We  know,  however,  that  girls  who 
never  handled  a  racquet  in  their  lives  before 
are  getting  interested  in  the  game. 

The  Basket  Ball  Throw  for  distance  is  con- 
ducted in  the  same  way,  and  on  the  same  part 
of  the  floor  which  is  marked  out  for  the  boys' 
Shot  Putting.  Two  squads  throwing  from  op- 
posite ends  of  the  gymnasium  keep  two  or 
three  basket  balls  in  lively  circulation. 

Off  in  a  quiet  corner  is  another  group  of 
girls  gathered  around  an  "Indoor  Golf"  game, 
consisting  of  a  small  inclined  plane  with  a 
cup  in  the  middle.  Solid  rubber  balls  the  size 


106    RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

of  a  golf  ball  are  placed  on  the  floor  about 
three  feet  away  from  the  plane,  and,  with  a 
wooden  "putter,"  the  girls  try  to  "put" 
the  ball  into  the  hole.  The  ball  rolling  up  the 
little  incline  is  retarded  very  much  the  same 
as  it  would  be  by  the  grass  on  a  "putting 
green." 

It  may  be  the  novelty  of  the  idea,  or  it  may 
be  the  fascination  of  "the  grand  old  game," 
we  don't  yet  know  which,  but  we  do  know 
that  the  girls  like  this  exercise  immensely. 

We  wish  we  could  introduce  practice  in 
"driving,"  because  it  is  such  a  magnificent 
exercise,  and  because  it  would  help  even  more 
to  awaken  interest  in  the  game  and  to  make 
more  and  more  of  our  girls,  golf  players.  Inci- 
dentally, we  don't  know  any  better  service 
that  we  could  render  them  than  this.  But  a 
"driver"  swings  through  such  a  large  arc 
that  it  becomes  a  deadly  weapon  where  a 
large  number  of  children  are  practicing. 

Practice  in  shooting  goals  with  a  basket 
ball  is  taken  by  another  squad,  sometimes 
shooting  from  the  "foul  line,"  sometimes  on 
the  run,  the  ball  being  throw^n  at  the  player, 
who  runs,  "dribbles"  once,  and  "shoots."  For 
testing  purposes,  each  girl  is  credited  with 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS     107 


FIG.  22. —  THE  GIRLS'  SQUADS  IN  ACTION 

(Showing  five  squads  at  work,  the  sixth  —  throwing  the  basket  ball 
—  being  out  of  range  of  the  camera.) 

the  number  of  times  she  can  put  the  ball  into 
the  basket  in  thirty  seconds,  no  one  else  being 
allowed  to  touch  the  ball  during  that  time. 

The  favorite  running  game  is  the  potato 
race,  using  the  same  course,  with  the  same 
modifications  for  the  different  years,  as  pre- 
viously described  for  the  boys.  (See  page  44-) 
It  will  be  found  interesting  to  compare,  occa- 
sionally, the  time  made  by  the  girls  with  that 
made  by  the  boys  in  corresponding  classes. 
The  girls,  not  infrequently,  beat  the  boys  at 
this  exercise. 


108    RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

The  "potato  race"  in  any  form  is  a  mag- 
nificent exercise.  It  is  keenly  exciting,  and 
develops  both  speed  and  control;  while  the 
stooping  exercises  the  big  muscles  of  the  back 
and  thighs,  squeezes  the  viscera,  forces  deep 
breathing,  and  certainly  stimulates  the  cir- 
culation. When  all  these  results  are  secured 
in  an  atmosphere  of  keen  enjoyment,  we  are 
getting  nearly  100  per  cent,  of  physical 
training  value. 

With  our  physical  training  lessons  organized 
in  this  way,  we  find  that  the  attitude  of  both 
the  teacher  and  the  girls  has  changed.  The 
former  has  to  watch  carefully  to  prevent 
girls  from  taking  part  on  days  when  it  is  better 
for  them  to  keep  still,  and  the  girls  who  are 
excluded  because  they  forgot  to  bring  their 
rubber  shoes  are  rather  an  aggrieved  set  of 
young  ladies.  Requests  to  be  excused  are 
rare,  and  that  would  seem  to  tell  the  story 
better  than  anything  else. 

Unless  all  signs  fail  we  shall  have,  in  a  year 
or  two,  a  set  of  exercises  for  girls  as  complete 
and  as  interesting  as  those  previously  described 
for  boys. 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS    FOR  BOYS     109 

RECORDS  OF  EIGHTH  YEAR  GIRLS 

The  records,  taken  recently,  of  thirty 
Eighth  Year  girls,  not  selected,  show  an 
average  distance  of  forty  feet  in  the  Basket 
Ball  Throw;  two  out  of  three  good  "serves" 
in  tennis;  a  score  of  nine  out  of  a  possible 
fifteen  points  in  throwing  the  baseball  at  the 
target;  one  "put"  out  of  three  on  the  golf 
green;  and  three  goals  shot  in  thirty  seconds. 
Considering  that  these  girls  have  had  less  than 
one* year  of  practice,  these  results  are  remark- 
ably good. 


IX.  RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR 
ADULTS 

Any  system  of  physical  training  that  does 
not  provide  for  a  method  of  "following  up  " 
is  defective,  in  that  it  is  likely  to  be  dropped 
after  school.  Let  us  see  what  there  is  in  the 
exercises  and  the  scoring  system  here  pre- 
sented that  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  home 
practice  for  the  boys  who  have  been  trained 
in  Rational  Athletics  and  for  men  who  are 
trying  to  keep  in  good  condition. 

As  we  all  know,  it  is  one  thing  to  select  a 
good  set  of  daily  exercises,  and  quite  another 
to  practice  or  follow  them  up  with  no  further 
stimulus  than  the  hope  of  the  benefit  to  be 
derived,  which  latter  too  often  fades  away  in 
the  consciousness  of  sore  muscles  and  stretched 
ligaments.  Most  of  us  must  admit  that  we 
have  not  the  necessary  will  power  to  persevere 
in  such  a  course. 

To  meet  this  generally  acknowledged  weak- 
ness, I  would  propose  an  adaptation  of  the 
methods  we  use  in  school,  so  that  the  man 
who  starts  out  to  exercise  at  home  will  have 

110 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      111 

a  definite  goal  toward  which  to  work  and  a 
norm  by  which  to  measure  his  progress.  In 
other  words  he  will  be  playing  a  game,  just 
as  one  plays  golf  alone,  striving  to  equal  or 
beat  his  best  previous  score. 

Taking  the  five  exercises  used  in  school 
which  may  most  easily  be  used  at  home,  we 
adopt  the  minimum  standards  prescribed  for 
SB  boys  (graduating  class)  with  a  maximum 
of  seventy-five  points  to  be  striven  for. 
The  "tired  business  man"  who  can  earn  his 
seventy -five  points,  or  anything  near  it,  need 
not  worry  much  about  his  condition! 

The  writer  would  be  ashamed  to  mention 
his  score  the  first  time  he  seriously  tried  this 
system  on  himself.  But  piqued  pride  is  a 
powerful  stimulant,  so  it  wasn't  long  before 
he  began  to  show  improvement.  He  found, 
however,  that  there  was  quite  a  difference 
between  demonstrating  the  exercises  to  classes 
of  boys  or  conferences  of  teachers,  and  ex- 
tending himself  "to  go  the  limit"  in  any  one 
of  them. 

The  exercises  that  lend  themselves  best  to 
use  at  home  are:  Running  (in  place);  Chin- 
ning the  Bar;  Combination  Dip;  Trunk  Lift- 
ing, and  Deep  Breathing. 


112    RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

Running  in  place,  going  through  the  mo- 
tions of  running,  without  advancing,  will  be 
found  vigorous  enough  exercise  if  kept  up, 
lifting  the  feet  well  at  each  step,  keeping  up 
"on  the  toes,"  not  allowing  the  heels  to 
touch  the  floor.  Say  we  fix  a  minimum  of 
one  minute,  for  which  we  allow  five  points 
credit;  continued  for  two  minutes,  ten  points; 
for  three  minutes,  fifteen  points,  calling  the 
last,  the  maximum. 

For  Chinning  the  Bar,  the  SB  standard 
will  do;  namely,  seven  times,  five  points; 
twelve  times,  ten  points;  seventeen  times, 
fifteen  points. 

For  Combination  Dip  the  standards  are  the 
same  as  in  Chinning:  seven  times,  five  points; 
twelve  times,  ten  points;  seventeen  times, 
fifteen  points. 

For  Trunk  Lifting,  fifteen  times,  five  points; 
twenty  times,  ten  points;  twenty -five  times, 
fifteen  points.  Trunk  Lifting  consists  in 
lying  flat  on  the  back,  arms  folded,  and  rais- 
ing the  body  to  a  sitting  position  without 
letting  the  heels  leave  the  floor. 

In  Chest  Expansion  for  boys,  two  and  one- 
half  inches  equals  five  points;  three  inches, 
eight  points;  three  and  one-half  inches,  eleven 


RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS      113 

points;  four  inches,  fifteen  points.  For  men 
I  should  add  an  inch  to  these  requirements, 
making  the  minimum  three  and  one-half 
inches  and  the  maximum  five  inches.  The 
writer  does  five  and  one-half  inches  easily,  but 
sees  no  advantage  in  trying  to  increase  his  ex- 
pansion. In  this,  as  in  all  our  other  exercises, 
we  are  not  striving  to  break  records  by 
specializing,  but  rather  to  build  up  a  good 
average  in  normal  health. 

A  Record  Card,  showing  the  standards  and 
spaces  for  recording  progress,  is  shown. 


Running  .    ... 

1    min.      5  pts. 

2       "       10  " 
3       "       15  " 

7  times    5  " 
12              10  " 
17               15  " 

7                 5  " 
12               10  " 
17               15  " 

15                5  " 
20               10  " 
25               15  " 

(3$)  2|  inches    5  " 
(4)    3       "         8  " 
(4*)  3*     "       11   " 
(5)    4               15  " 

Chinning 

Comb.  Dip  .  . 

Trunk  Lifting 

Chest  Expansion 

FIG.  23.  —  THE  ADULT'S  RECORD  CARD 

(Showing  the  "tired  business  man"  how  he  may  best  keep  tally  of  his 
own  physical  development.) 


114    RATIONAL  ATHLETICS  FOR  BOYS 

This,  briefly  stated,  is  our  plan  for  adapting 
Rational  Athletics  to  home  practice  for  adults 
and  for  boys  who  have  left  school.  The  man 
who  succeeds  in  earning  the  maximum  of 
seventy-five  points  is  allowed  figuratively  to 
pin  upon  himself  a  Rational  Athlete's  Senior 
Medal. 


APPENDIX 


116  APPENDIX 

Hn  jeibibttion  of  iRational  Htbletic0 

TUESDAY,  MAY  28,  1912,  at  1:15  P.M. 

PROGRAM 
PART  I 

I.   INTER-CLASS  RELAY  SACK  RACE 
4A1,  4A2  and  3BE 

Teams  of  36  boys  from  each  class 

II.    INTER-CLASS  RELAY  POTATO  RACE 
4B1,  4Asl  and  4AE<2 

Teams  of  30  boys  from  each  class 

III.  INTER-CLASS  CONTEST  IN  "TRUNK  LIFTING" 

4BE1,  4BE2  and  4BE3 

Entire  class  (except  those  excluded  by  the  Doctor). 
Groups  of  5  from  each  class  (15)  tested  at  once. 
"Trunk  Lifting"  consists  of  lying  on.  the  back  and 
raising  oneself  to  a  sitting  position. 

IV.  INTER-CLASS  CONTEST  IN  THE  "COMBINATION  DIP" 

5A1,   5A2,  5B1,  5B2 

(Same  as  above) 

The  "  Combination  Dip"  consists  of  resting  on  hands 
and  toes,  touching  chest  to  the  ground  and  ris- 
ing, three  times,  then  springing  to  standing 
position. 

V.    INTER-CLASS    CONTEST    IN    THE    "STANDING    BROAD 
JUMP." 

5AE2  and  5AE3 

(Same  as  above) 


APPENDIX  117 

PROGRAM 

(Continued) 
VI.    INTER-CLASS  CONTEST  IN  "CHINNING  THE  BAR" 

5BE1  and  5BE2 
VII.    INTER-CLASS  FLAG  RELAY  RACE 

6A1,  6A2,  6B1,  6B2,   6B3 
VIII.   INTER-CLASS   CONTEST   IN  "Hop,  STEP  AND  LEAP" 

6AEl,  6As2  and  6AE3 

IX.    INTER-CLASS  CONTEST  IN  "SHOT  PUT" 
6BEl  and  6BE2 

The  boys  use  a  6  Ib.  medicine  ball  instead  of  a  shot, 
as  it  is  safer. 

PART   II 
X.    ALL-AROUND  CONTEST 

5AEl  and  5BE3 

A  selected  team  of  boys  from  these  two  classes  will 
compete  in  all  the  following  exercises: 

1.  CHINNING  THE  BAR  5.  HOP,  STEP  AND  LEAP 

2.  CHEST  EXPANSION  6.  TRUNK  LIFTING 

3.  BROAD  JUMP  7.  SHOT  PUT 

4.  COMBINATION  DIP  8.  RUNNING  (60  yds.) 

They  will  thus  give  an  exhibition  of  the  training 
every  boy  in  the  school  receives  in  the  course 
of  the  year. 


118 


APPENDIX 


FIELD  DAY 

THURSDAY,  JUNE  5,  1913,  AT  1:30  P.M. 

INTER-CLASS  CONTESTS  —  BOYS 

I 


8B.   Red* 
8  A.   Blue 

vs. 

7B1.    Green 
7B2.   Pink 

7  A 1.   Lavender 

vs. 
7  A2.   Purple 

6B1.   White 

vs. 
6B2.   Orange 

6  A1.    Cerise 

vs. 
6  A2.   Yellow 


1.  Flag  Relay,  Scratch,  J  of  the  track 

2.  Shot  Put  (Handicap  2  ft.  for  7  B) 

3.  Hop,  Step   and   Leap  (Handicap   for 

height) 

II 

1.  Flag  Relay,  one-sixth  of  the  track 

2.  Combination  Dip 

III 

1.  Class  Running  (60  Yards) 

2.  Standing  Broad  Jump 

IV 

1.  Shuttle  Relay  (50  Yards) 

2.  Deep  Breathing 


5  B  '.^Light  Blue      j    Clasg  Running  (40  yarfs) 
2.  Chinning  the  Bar 

VI 

1.  Sack  Relay 

2.  Trunk  Lifting 

VII 

Class  Running  (40  Yards) 


5  A1.   Lt.  Green 

vs. 
5  A  2.   Gray 

4B.   Tan 

vs. 
4  A.   Dk.  Brown 


*  The  color  assigned  to  each  class  will  be  carried  by  the  runner  or  otherwise 
displayed  so  that  the  spectators  may  distinguish  the  classes. 


APPENDIX 


119 


VIII 

RUNNING  BROAD  JUMP 

(FOR  BOYS  UNDER  95  LBS.) 


No. 

38 

39 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 


Distance . 


Name 

Class 

No. 

Name 

Class 

McDonald,  Daniel 

7B1 

51 

Hurley,  Edward 

5B  1 

Gorman,  William 

7B  1 

52 

Cowper,  Joseph 

5B2 

Barnes,  William 

8  A 

53 

Donate,  Dominic 

6  A2 

Collins,  John 

8A 

54 

Diehl,  Francis 

8B 

Rogers,  Robert 

8  A' 

55 

McBride,  John 

6  B  2 

Millard,  Orson 

8  A 

56 

Kalbach,  Charles 

6B2 

McGrath,  Martin 

7  A  2 

57 

Buckley,  James 

5  A  2 

Brown,  Leroy 

7  A2 

.       58 

Bull,  Norman 

7  A  1 

Cutter,  Harold 

7  A2 

59 

McBride,  James 

7  A  1 

Corbett,  William 

7  A2 

60 

Altheimer,  Melville 

7  A  1 

Heineman,  Nathan 

7  A  2 

61 

Kearns,  Burtsell 

7B  2 

Mundorf,  Anton 

7  A2 

62 

Thorn,  Sanford 

8B 

Marra,  Anthony 

7  A  2 

63 

Zubrod,  Paul 

8B 

>.v.  .  . 

..2nd... 

...3rd... 

INTER-CLASS  CONTESTS  —  GIRLS 
IX 


8B.   Red 

vs. 
8  A.   Dark  Blue 

7B1.    Green 

vs. 
7B2.   Pink 

6B.   White 

vs. 
6  A.   Maroon 

5  B.   Light  Blue 

vs. 
5  A.   Yellow 

4  B.   Lavender 

vs. 
4  A.   Purple 


1.  Obstacle  Relay 

2.  Captain  Ball 

X 

1.  Flag  Relay  (one-sixth  of  the  track) 

2.  End  Ball 

XI 

1.  Potato  Shuttle  Relay 

2.  Basket  Ball  Throw 

XII 

1.  Needle  and  Thread  Race 

2.  Dodge  Ball 

XIII 

1.  All  Up  Relay 

2.  Pass  Ball 


APPENDIX 


XIV 
EXHIBITION  DRILL 

BY   45    SELECTED    BOYS 

This  drill  is  the  same  that  will  be  given  in  Central  Park 
on  June  6,  by  10,000  boys. 

XV 
80  YARD   DASH    (Handicap) 


(UNLIMITED  WEIGHT) 


No. 
I 
2 
3 
4 
5 


7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 


Name 

Shultz,  Arthur 
Louden,  Ralph 
Sheridan,  Robert 
Schneider,  William 
Sattler,  Albert 
Wines,  Harris 
Stanlisso,  Eric 
Machlett,  Raymond 
Gladwin,  Harold 
Buckley,  William 
Brown,  Charles 
Kidd,  James 
Brunner,  Fred. 
Olsen,  George 
Kempler,  Leo 
Cotter,  John 
Hale,  Nathan 
Cowan,  Everette 
Bulter,  Cornelius 

TRIAL   HEATS 


Class 

7B1 

7B  1 

7B1 
8A 
8  A 
8  A 
8  A 
8  A 
8  A 
8B 

6B 

6  B 

6B 

6B 

6B 

6B 

6  B 

6B  2 

6B  2 


No. 

Name 

Class 

20 

Flomer,  Alfred 

6B2 

21 

Gavin,  Percy 

6A2 

22 

Gorman,  Raymond 

6A 

23 

Severance,  Erastus 

6A 

24 

Arra,  James 

6  A 

25 

Warner,  Stanley 

6A 

26 

Nealey,  William 

6A 

27 

Kunzman,  Herbert 

6A 

28 

Theise,  James 

6A 

29 

Morse,  Maynard 

5B 

30 

MacDonald,  Allen 

5B 

31 

Sustman,  John 

7B 

32 

Keeler,  Arthur 

7B2 

33 

Burnside,  George 

7  B  2 

34 

Holland,  John 

8B 

35 

Hamman,  George 

8B 

36 

Widrewitz,  Belmont 

8B 

37 

Mackintosh,  Walter 

8B 

1 

2                     3 

SEMI-FINAL 

1 

2                      3 

1 

...2  3  .. 

FINAL 


APPENDIX 


FIELD   DAY 

FRIDAY,  MAY  15,  1914,  at  9  A.  M. 
INTER-CLASS  CONTESTS  —  BOYS 


8B1.  Red 
8B2.  Blue 
8A.  Green 


7B1.  Pink 

7B2.  Lavender 

7A1.  Purple 

7A2.  White 


6B1. 
6B2. 


6A1. 
6A2. 


Orange 
Cerise 


Yellow 
Light  Blue 


I.  PENTATHLON 

1.  Running  —  80  yards 

2.  Deep  Breathing  (Chest  Expansion) 

3.  Shot  Put 

4.  Hop,  Step  and  Leap 

5.  Trunk  Lifting 

II.  PENTATHLON 

1.  Running  —  60  yards 

2.  Deep  Breathing 

3.  Chinning  the  Bar 

4.  Combination  Dip 

5.  Standing  Broad  Jump 

III. 

1.  Flag  Relay 

2.  Hop,  Step  and  Leap 

IV. 

1.  Class  Running  —  50  yards 

2.  Standing  Broad  Jump 


5B.     Maroon 
5A1.   Light  Green. 
5A2.   Gray 

4B1.   Tan 
4B2.   Dark  Brown 

V. 

1.   Shuttle  Relay 
2.   Trunk  Lifting 

VI. 

Potato  Race 

4A1. 
4A2. 


Red  and  White 
Blue  and  White 


VII. 

Sack  Race 


The  color  assigned  to  each  class  will  be  carried  by  the  runner  or  otherwise  dis- 
played so  that  the  spectators  may  distinguish  the  classes. 

VIII. 
80  YARD  DASH  (Unlimited  Weight) 

No.               Name  Class  No.               Name  Class 

1  Burnside,  George  8Bl                 4  Oneil,  Jack  8B1 

2  Irving,  Edgar  8B1                 5  Tighe,  Joseph  8B2 

3  Keeler,  Arthur  8Bl                  6  Sheridan,  Robert  8B2 


APPENDIX 


No. 

Name 

Class 

7 

Hanecke,  Edwin 

8B2 

8 

Duernberger,  Walter 

8B2 

9 

Marra,  Anthony 

8A 

10 

Heineman,  Nathan 

8A 

11 

Egan,  Eugene 

8A 

12 

Goldman,  Milton 

8A 

13 

Hughes,  Harold 

8A 

14 

Cotter,  John 

7B1 

15 

Flomer,  Alfred 

7B1 

TRIAL  HEATS 

1..  . 

2  3  ..  . 

1 

2                     3 

1 

2                     3 

1 

2  3  ... 

1 

...2  3  .. 

No. 

Name 

Class 

16 

Kuestner,  Wilbert 

6B1 

17 

Hynes,  Eugene 

6B2 

18 

Manco,  Joseph 

6B2 

19 

Sustman,  George 

5A1 

20 
21 

Morgenweck,  Adolph 
Biasotti,  Alfred 

5A1 
5A2 

22 

linger,  John 

5A2 

23 

Brunner,  Fred 

7B1 

24 

Freeman,  Stuart 

7B1 

1 

2                     2 

SEMI-FINAL 

1 

2                     3 

1 

2                .      3  .  . 

FINAL 

1 

...2  3  .. 

INTER-CLASS   CONTESTS  —  GIRLS 

IX 

8B1.   Red  1.   All  Up  Relay  (Modified) 

8B2.   Blue  2.   Baseball  Throw,  for  accuracy 

8A.     Green  3.   Captain  Ball 


7B.     Pink 
7A1.   Purple 

7A2.   White 


X 

1.  Obstacle  Relay 

2.  Tennis  Serving 

3.  End  Ball 


6B1.   Orange 
6B2.   Cerise 
Yellow 
Lt.  Blue 


6A1. 
6A2. 


5B.     Maroon 
5A1.   Lt.  Green 
5A2.   Gray 


4B.   Tan 

4A.   Dk.  Brown 


XI 

1.  Flag  Relay 

2.  Basket  Ball  Throw,  for  distance 


XII 

1.  Needle  and  Thread  Race 

2.  Dodge  Ball 

XIII 

1.  Potato  Race 

2.  Pass  Ball 


APPENDIX 

XIV 
60   YARD   DASH    (Boys  under  95  Ibs.) 


123 


No. 

Name 

Class 

No. 

Name 

Class 

25 

Guerriero,  Thomas 

8B1 

64 

Mazzotti,  Ferdinand 

6A1 

26 

Daglish,  Walter 

8B1 

65 

Weis,  Arthur 

6A1 

27 

Kearns,  Robert 

8B1 

66 

Heineman,  Fred 

6A1 

28 

Sustman,  John 

8B2 

67 

Newman,  George 

6A1 

29 

Gorman,  William 

8B2 

68 

Sullivan,  John 

6A1 

30 

Heine,  Walter 

8B2 

69 

Hunter,  Robert 

6A1 

31 

Corbett,  William 

8A 

70 

Finnegan,  William 

6A1 

32 

Brown,  Leroy 

8A 

71 

Buckley,  William 

6A1 

33 

Cutter,  Harold 

8A 

72 

Cassidy,  Francis  S. 

6A2 

34 

Zubrod,  Julius 

8A 

73 

Hirsch,  Lawrence 

6A2 

35 

Mundorf,  Anton 

8A 

74 

Murphy,  Francis 

6A2 

36 

Lynch,  Frank 

7B1 

75 

Quinn,  James 

6A2 

37 

Kalbach,  Charles 

7B1 

76 

Sternschuss,  Arnold 

6A2 

38* 

McQuaid,  George 

7B2 

77 

Biasotti,  David 

5A1 

39 

McKenna,  Cline 

7B2 

78 

De  Santis,  Frank 

5A1 

40 

Hale,  Nathan 

7B2 

79 

Tench,  Donald 

5A1 

41 

Kinsella,  Walter 

7A1 

80 

Hansen,  Lawrence 

5A1 

42 

Severance,  Erastus 

7A1 

81 

Arbucho,  Paul 

5A2 

43 

Theise,  James 

7A1 

82 

Longa,  Alfred 

5A2 

44 

Harbeck,  Frank 

7A1 

83 

Wainwright,  Paul 

5A1 

45 

Byrne,  Victor 

7A1 

84 

Helahan,  John 

5A2 

46 

Biasotti,  Edward 

7A1 

85 

Davis,  Franklin 

5A2 

47 

Warner,  Stanley 

7A1 

86 

Dennerlein,  Herbert 

5A2 

48 

Brooks,  Seth 

7A2 

87 

Hohnsted,  Henry 

5A2 

49 

Chaffee,  Clarence 

7A2 

88 

Woerner,  Albert 

5B 

50 

O'Connor,  Albert 

7A2 

89 

Corbett,  Frank 

5B 

51 

Keene,  Simon 

6B1 

90 

Enders,  Carl 

5B 

52 

McGinnis,  Simon 

6B1 

91 

Burnside,  William 

5B 

53 

Schultz,  Herbert 

6B1 

92 

Bailey,  John 

5B 

54 

Bronte,  Emery 

6B2 

93 

Reilly,  John 

5B 

55 

Hunter,  Paul 

6B2 

94 

Donohoe,  Albert 

5B 

56 

Fried,  Fred 

6B2 

95 

Ashley,  Anthony 

5B 

57 

MacDonald,  Allan 

6B2 

96 

Fraser,  Daniel 

5B 

58 

Keller,  John 

6B2 

97 

Shaw,  Raymond 

5B 

59 

Reilly,  Raymond 

6B2 

98 

Duernberger,  Elwood 

5B 

60 

Millard,  Harry 

6B2 

99 

Cowan,  David 

5B 

61 

Long,  David 

6A1 

100 

Mahoney,  Jerome 

5B 

62 

Greenwald,  Philip 

6A1 

101 

Brown,  Edward 

5B 

63 

Byrne,  Frank 

6A1 

102 

Pagliaro,  Frank 

7B1 

SEMI-FINALS 

1st  Heat  —  Won  bv  

2nd. 

Time 

2nd 

«•      ••  

2nd. 

Time  

3rd 

"      "  

2nd. 

Time  

FINAL 

Won  by  ...            ...  2nd  ... 

...  3rd  ... 

,4th  Time.. 

N.B.  —  Trials  were  run  off  previously. 


INDEX 


ADULTS,  110 

ALDINGER,  DR.,  10,  35  ff. 

APPARATUS 

Low  cost,  39. 
ATHLETICS 

Money  spent  on,  23  ff. 

BASEBALL  THROW 

Method,  103 

Standards,  104 
BASKET  BALL 

Shooting  Goals,  106 

CHEST  EXPANSION 

Method,  60 

Standards,  48 
CHINNING  THE  BAR 

Method,  68 

Standards,  45,  53 
CLASS  ATHLETICS,  83,  91  ff. 
COLLEGE  HEROES,   28 
COMBINATION  DIP 

Method,  71  ff. 

Standards,  46.  54 
COMMERCIALISM,  29 
CRAMPTON,  DR.,  10,  22,  34  ff.,  82 

DEEP  BREATHING 
Method,  59  ff. 
Standards,  48,  54 


ELIGIBILITY,  50 


EMULATION 

Individual  against  self,  18 

Class,  18 

Grade,  18 

School,  18 

EXALTATION    OF  THE    INDIVID- 
UAL, 27 

FIELD  DAY,  95  ff. 
FOLLOWING  UP  RATIONAL  ATH- 
LETICS, 110 

GIRLS'  ATHLETICS,  101 
GOLF  —  PUTTING  IN,  105 

HEIGHT,  37 
HIGH  JUMP 

Method,  75 

Standards,  47,  54 
HONOR  OF  THE  SCHOOL,  88 
HOP,   STEP,   AND  LEAP 

Method,  66,  74 

Standards,  47,  54 
HYGIENE,  34,  41 

INTER-SCHOOL     CONTESTS,     18, 
88  ff. 

NEGLECTING  THE  MANY,  30 
NEW  YORK  COURSE  OF  STUDY,  34 

OVERTRAINING  THE  FEW,  30  ff. 


124 


INDEX 


125 


PENTATHLON,  88  ff. 
PHYSICAL  TRAINING 

Aims  in,  16 

Records,  35  ff. 

Lesson,  34 
PITCHING,  79  ff. 
POTATO  RACE 

Subst.  for  dist.  running,  44 

Method,  44,  107 

Standards,  44  f. 
PROGRAMS     FOR    FIELD    DAYS, 

116  ff. 
PUTTING  IN  GOLF,  105 

RECORDS 

Individual,  35  ff.,  87 

Class,    87,  109 

Grade,  51  ff. 

School,  83,  91 

RESULTS,  FALL  TERM,  1914,  52 
RUNNING 

Method,  41  ff. 

Standards,  44 

SENIOR  ATHLETE,  49 
SERVING  IN  TENNIS,  104  f. 
SHOOTING  GOALS,  106 


SHOT  PUT 

Method,  66,  77 

Standards,  48,  54 
SPECIALIZATION,  25 
SQUADS 

Organization,  55 

Classroom  Work,  56 

Gymnasium  Work,  62,  102 

ff. 
STANDARDS 

Basis  for,  51  ff. 
STANDING  BROAD  JUMP 

Method,  68 

Standards,  46,  53 

TENNIS  SERVICE 

Method,  104 

Standards,  105 
THROWING  BASEBALL,  103 
THROWING  BASKET  BALL,  105 
TROPHIES 

Class,  83,  88  ff. 

School,  83,  88  ff. 
TRUNK  LIFTING,  54 

WEIGHING,  37 

WINGATE,  GEN.  GEO.  W.,  5,  9 


198 


-'U 


"    IR55308 


^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


